The 1959 Oceanographic Congress: An Informal History

Abstract

The 1950s saw a great upwelling of interest in international cooperation on oceanographie research. IGY—the International Geophysical Year—brought many scientists from many countries together for cooperative work. UNESCO’s International Advisory Committee on Marine Sciences (IACOMS) and the Special Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) of the International Council of Scientific Unions were established and held their first meetings in 1956 and 1957. Oceanographers from several countries were planning joint studies of the Indian Ocean. New discoveries of mid-ocean ridges were stimulating much rethinking about the history of the world’s oceans and land masses. It was a good time indeed for scientists of all disciplines interested in the oceans to come together to review progress and to think about future work.