PACIFIC SCIENCE CONGRESS

Press, Volume LXXXV, Issue 25736, 23 February 1949, Page 6

PACIFIC SCIENCE CONGRESS

Recommendations At Final Session

’ The Seventh Pacific Science Congress ended in Christchurch yesterday with a plenary session on the organisation of research. High among the general recommendations were placed the improvement of training for young students and facilities for trained scientists. Access was sought to much valuable unpublished material collected during wartime operations. Several sections urged the preparation of complete bibliographies in particular subjects. The congress recommended greater recogniton for museums as research institutions and depositories of reference collections, and recommended that the attentionxff Governments and other institutions be drawn to serious understaffing in many of them. Sponsors of scientific expeditions will be urged to make financial provision for the preparation and preservation of collections assembled. * The following were among the general observations in divisional recommendations on the research programme adopted by the final plenary session:— Meteorological Network In general, a more adequate network of meteorological stations in the Pacific is needed. The surface, upperair and ship reports are sparse and, in certain large areas, non-existent. Surface and upper-air stations must be established on islands such as Easter Island (Chile), Clipperton Island (France), and Marcus Island (United States trust territory). The weather reporting network in the western Pacific is not considered adequate. It is urged that additional stations be established immediately. Attention should be paid to the desirability of a complete upper-air meteorological section from pole to pole (from the North Pole through Alaska, the Pacific islands, including such weather ships as may be available, through New Zealand and to Antarctica). This would provide valuable data for the attack on the problem of general circulation. The importance of observations from ships in the Pacific cannot be overstressed. It is necessary to devise means of taking and utilising not only the weather observations commonly made from vessels at sea, but also measurements of radiation, rainfall, and air and sea surface temperature. Seismology Stations As stations containing modern seismographs are urgently needed at selected points in the Pacific area, it is recommended to the governments concerned tnat such stations should be located in New Caledonia, in the United States trust territories of the Pacific, and in southern and western Australia. It is desirable that when Eossible temporary stations be estabshed in Antarctica.

As the seismic refraction survey of Bikini atoll produced results of significant geological interest it is recommended that the study of the structure of atolls by geophysical methods be continued where possible, particularly in the United States trust territories of the Pacific.

Data obtainable from deep bore holes are needed to establish the stratigraphical and palaeontological sequences, tp aid the interpretation of geophysical records, to furnish observations on temperature and heat flow, and to control hypotheses relating to the physical history and possible permanence of the Pacific basin. it is recommended that a bore hole 16,000 feet deep be drilled at Bikini atoll. Fundamental Ocean Research The knowledge available on the fundamental physical aspects of oceanography is inadequate fot the demands made for information by fisheries’ scientists, biologists, meteorologists. and coastal and shipping authorities.

Echo soundings in the un travelled areas of the Pacific ocean are needed to complete the knowledge of the relief features of the earth. Particular attention should be given to features such as sea-mounts, ridges, trenches, and canyons. The change of shore lines, wave action. and effects of river flow and coastal currents are important subjects of study. The erosion of shore frontages, reclamation of land, and the silting of harbours are problems of economic consequence, for whose solution the necesarv basic information is not yet available. Studies should include the transportation of beach materials bv waves and currents. The effect of instability at the edge of continental and insular shelves on the transfer of nutrients from deep water to coastal seas should be investigated. This is important in assessing the potential productivity of Pacific fisheries. In view of the increasing dependence of humanity on fisheries as a major food source, it is recom-

mended that a fisheries committee be appointed by the congress. Marine Problems With the great preponderance of marine problems in the Pacific area, the zoological work of shore and floating biological stations relating to the marine fauna should be co-ordinated with the biological and physical oceanographic programmes. We urge the necessity of establishing one or more marine biological and oceanographic stations in those oceanic divisions recommended by the Food and Agricultural Organisation which lie in the Pacific area where no such station exists. The setting-up of such a station in New Zealand is specifically recommended. Provision should be made for intensive surveys of the Pacific area for dangerous agricultural pests and diseases, to provide fundamental information which mav be used as a basis for quarantine activities. Surveys of Vegetation An urgent need exists for research in plant ecology and vegetation science, pointed toward solution of problems relating to conservation of natural resources, rare and scientifically interesting species, and examples of vegetation types. Especial attention should be given to the nature of Pacific habitats or environments. Even after 180 years of botanical exploration there are still some areas in the Pacific whose floras are very imperfectly known. It is essential in order to understand the distribution of many groups of plants that these major gaps be filled in before the floras disappear. The South Pacific Commission should be asked to recommend that the Bishop Museum be adequately staffed to serve as a clearing house for collections of Pacific plants. Meeting Food Shortages There are great shortages of food, particularly in Asiatic countries bordering the Pacific Ocean, and in view of the desirability of enhancing the prosperity of Pacific island peoples and for all Pacific countries to make the maximum contribution towards the prosperity of the Pacific basin, it is recommended that every effort be made to develop as rapidly as is consistent with orderly progress the agricultural and forestry resources of the whole Pacific region. To achieve this objective, it is imperative that encouragement be given to research in every field of agricultural science, and that facilities for research be extended in every country within the Pacific region. [Particular attention was urged to improved soil and land classification, crop management, stock breeding, and to intensified research in forestry.] Human Problems in Pacific

The large majority of human problems in the Pacific to-day demand cooperative research if they are to be satisfactorily solved. Team research, involving representation both of different scientific disciplines and of different specialties within a particular discipline, constitutes an important technique of i esearch in the cultural and social sciences and should be used in the Pacific. The Pacific is in a state of accelerated cultural and social change. The inevitability of change is recognised, and anthropologists as well as others disclaim any desire to maintain aboriginal cultures intact, or to advocate radical cultural change. In general, detailed special investigations should not be undertaken in advance of broader studies of the culture and social life as a functioning whole.

Native Medical Questions A Pacific epidemiological centre for the correlation of information on diseases should be established. A systematic programme of food analyses, employing uniform techniques. should be inaugurated for all the principal native foods both in the raw state and as prepared for eating by customary local methods. Diet surveys should be undertaken, including studies of food habits to determine the part particular foods play in local diets. A further trial should be made of food plants suitable for planting on coral atolls, and especially of starchproducing foods.

A clinical and laboratory study should be undertaken among selected groups of native neoples in the Pacific. A wide inquiry on tuberculosis, malaria, disease-carrying insects, and fungi, and virus diseases is also proposed. An effort should be made to determine the reasons for the markedly low incidence of dysentery in certain areas of the Pacific, with a view to applying the knowledge gained to reduction of dysentery in areas where it is prevalent

Native medicine, including materials and treatments employed, should also be studied.