Report of special committee on geophysical and geological study of oceanic basins

Abstract

As stated in its first report to the fourteenth annual meeting in 1933, the Committee has attempted to promote:(1) The application of geophysical methods to the study of oceanic basins and submerged continental margins, including the modification, perfection and invention of new apparatus and techniques.(2) The application of geophysical methods to the study of oceanic basins and submerged continental margins, including the modification, perfection. and invention of new apparatus and techniques. The discussion and organization of such oceanographic projects as appear to be of particular importance to the advancement of geodesy and geology.It is expected that there will be complete cooperation between this Committee and the recently organized Committee on Geophysical and Geological Study of Continents, and it is to be noted that there are a number of reasons why this cooperation should develop naturally and rapidly, including:(1) The natural desire on the part of geodesists and geologists to make the greatest possible use of geophysicists and geophysical methods.(2) The common desire to procure fundamental geological data concerning the drowned continental margins, especially of North America, where they form the seaward extension of the great structural features commonly referred to as “geosynclines.”(3) The necessity of comparing the composition and structure of the rocks which underlie the oceanic basins and continents.(4) The geological importance of the study of the major island‐arcs, including the fore‐deeps.(5) The comparative study of contemporaneous and ancient marine sediments.