Chapter 12
Towards the World
Ocean Circulation
Experiment and a Bit
of Aftermath
CARL WUNSCH
INTRODUCTION
The World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) was the largest and most ambitious oceanographic experiment ever carried out. It was nearly 15 years in the
planning, 10 years in execution, and the costs (depending upon what one counts)
were of order U.S. one gigadollars spread over about 30 countries. Apart from the
chapter by Thompson et al. (2001), comparatively little has been written about the
origins of this unique program.
Here I will try to provide an informal, completely personal narrative of how
WOCE came to be. I have read enough of the methods and concerns of professional
historians to avoid making any claim that what is written here is any more than an
anecdotal account, relying mainly upon my very imperfect memory, and incomplete
records dating from 1977. I am looking back through the wrong end of the telescope.
Carl Wunsch, Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
181
Towards the World
Ocean Circulation
Experiment and a Bit
of Aftermath
CARL WUNSCH
INTRODUCTION
The World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) was the largest and most ambitious oceanographic experiment ever carried out. It was nearly 15 years in the
planning, 10 years in execution, and the costs (depending upon what one counts)
were of order U.S. one gigadollars spread over about 30 countries. Apart from the
chapter by Thompson et al. (2001), comparatively little has been written about the
origins of this unique program.
Here I will try to provide an informal, completely personal narrative of how
WOCE came to be. I have read enough of the methods and concerns of professional
historians to avoid making any claim that what is written here is any more than an
anecdotal account, relying mainly upon my very imperfect memory, and incomplete
records dating from 1977. I am looking back through the wrong end of the telescope.
Carl Wunsch, Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
181