Created in 1965 by the U.S. Navy, this film details the field of oceanography, which at that time appeared filled with promise. The film presents the view that, by harnessing tides hundreds of times more powerful than Niagara, and exploiting mineral and petrochemical resources as well as marine life, mankind can reach a bright future. The film also shows some of the history of oceanographic research from Greek times to the modern era.
Some of the interesting shots in the film include the Balao class submarine USS Chopper underwater at 2:00, the Deepstar and Alvin submersibles at 5:30, surfing at 6:40, a university at 9:20, SCUBA diving at 11:00, work with electronic drafting equipment at 13:50, research buoys at 14:00, geodetic survey at 14:10, the National Oceanographic Data Center at 15:00 with punchcard computers and mainframes. At 15:16 data tapes are stored in huge racks. At 15:48 the exploration of the Marianas Trench with the Bathyscaphe Trieste is shown. The Moray submersible and Aluminaut are also shown, as well as plans for the NR-1 research submarine. At 27:00 the Oregon State University research vessel Yaquina is shown. Also shown is USS Sands (T-AGOR-6) a Robert D. Conrad-class oceanographic research ship that served the U.S. Navy from 1965 to 1973. During that period she provided valuable ocean-bottom information and underwater test data to the U.S. Navy and other U.S. agencies.
Oceanography also known as oceanology and marine science, is the branch of Earth science that studies the ocean. It covers a wide range of topics, including marine organisms and ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamics; plate tectonics and the geology of the sea floor; and fluxes of various chemical substances and physical properties within the ocean and across its boundaries. These diverse topics reflect multiple disciplines that oceanographers blend to further knowledge of the world ocean and understanding of processes within: astronomy, biology, chemistry, climatology, geography, geology, hydrology, meteorology and physics. Paleoceanography studies the history of the oceans in the geologic past.
The 1960s were a time of rapid advancement in oceanographic surveys. The U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey built a fleet of new survey ships and spent more than a decade mapping large areas of the North Pacific basin for the Seamap Project. New technical advances included the Deep Tow instrument system, which takes multiple measures of the deep sea environment; multibeam sounding systems, which can take simultaneous readings of a swath of ocean floor to generate a map almost instantly; and the submersible re-search vessel Alvin, which can take scientists to unprecedented ocean depths. Research also focused on the inter-action between ocean and atmosphere, which was reflected in the creation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (1970) that now encompasses the C&GS as well as the National Weather Service.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
