Oceanographic activities of the Coast and Geodetic Survey

Abstract

The activities of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in oceanography have for five years been almost exclusively directed toward furnishing the Armed Forces with information in areas of strategic importance. Because of the confidential nature of much of this work, it was not possible during the War to present to the Section of Oceanography more than a general outline of the work. Now that the need for secrecy has passed, I shall review the hydrographic accomplishments of past years and point out some of the uses of surveying equipment for war purposes.The defenses of the Western Hemisphere, particularly the eastern approaches to the Panama Canal, were potentially strengthened when sites for naval bases in the West Indies were leased from Great Britain in partial exchange for fifty over‐age destroyers. Before the bases could be activated, it was first necessary to make detailed hydrographic and topographic surveys.