College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences Motion Picture Films and Videotapes, 1968-1998

The College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences Motion Picture Films and Videotapes consist of moving images recorded and assembled by the College, primarily for instructional use. The motion picture films include five productions made during the late 1960s and 1970s pertaining to oceanographic research, deep water drilling, offshore oil and gas operations, and the Oregon coast. The videotapes includes recordings of meteorology lectures given by Fred Decker in the 1970s and marine resource management seminars on the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill (1989) and Pacific Northwest fisheries (1998).

The films include The Hidden Frontier: The Story of Deep Water Drilling and Introduction to Oil and Gas Operations Offshore (1977). The latter was produced by the American Petroleum Institute and the Petroleum Extension Service of the University of Texas at Austin and addresses how offshore oil and gas are found, drilled for, produced, and transported to shore. Two of the films were produced by the National Science Foundation: The Well of Life and International Indian Ocean Expedition. The collection includes two copies of Oregon Sea Trails, which was written and narrated by Bill Hoyt.

The collection includes 30 videotape recordings of meterology lectures by Fred Decker that are part of the Rudiments of Meteorology series. Topics addressed include cloud formation, precipitation, weather reporting, tornadoes, jet streams, and polar weather. Footage of satellite images of the development of a squall line in the central United States in May 1978 is also included.

Videotape recordings of Marine Resource Management seminars (MRM 507) offered in Fall 1989 and Winter 1998 are part of the collection. Materials from the Fall 1989 seminar, Oil Spill '89: Resource Conservation and Management Today -- A Focus on the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, include 11 videotapes and lecture transcripts. Speakers include Jefferson J. Gonor and John V. Byrne from Oregon State University and representatives of NOAA; the U.S. Coast Guard; the Alaska Oil Spill Coordinating Office; the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation; and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. The seminar addressed oil spills along the west coast, an overview of the Alaska Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, oil spill response management, public oversight and involvement in disaster planning, disaster management and assessment, and Oregon's response to the disaster.

Ten videotape recordings of the 1998 seminar on the Pacific Northwest fisheries are part of the collection. Speakers includes Oregon State University faculty Susan Hanna, Gil Sylvia, and Bruce Rettig; several fishermen based in Newport; and representatives of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Oregon Trawl Commission. The speakers addressed the history of fishing in the Pacific Northwest; fishing communities; gear and extraction; fisheries management, regulations, and laws; management techniques; the business and economics of fishing; processing and marketing; environmental impacts of fishing; bycatch and discards; international fisheries management; interactions between recreational and commercial fishing; and the environmental impacts of aquaculture.

All of the films are 16 mm color with sound; two of the films are in marginal condition as they exhibit shrinkage and warping of the film base. All of the videotapes are VHS format.

Biographical / Historical Notes

Oceanography research began at Oregon State College in 1954 with a small research grant from the Office of Naval Research. The Oceanography Department was established within the School of Science in 1959 to fulfill the need for trained oceanographers and basic oceanographic research in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the Pacific Northwest. The department became the School of Oceanography in 1972 and the College of Oceanography in 1983. When the Atmospheric Sciences Department was transferred to the College in 1993, it was renamed the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences.

Fred W. Decker was a faculty member at Oregon State University from 1946 to 1981; he taught courses in engineering physics, astronomy, climatology, and theoretical and applied meterology and was a member of the Atmospheric Sciences Department after it was established in 1969.

Administrative Information

More Extent Information: 52 videotapes and 6 film reels; 4 boxes

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Acquisition Note: The films and videotapes were transferred to the Archives in 2006 and 2010.

Related Materials: Other moving images pertaining to oceanographic research and marine resources are part of the Extension and Experiment Station Communications Moving Images (FV 120), Hatfield Marine Science Center Videotapes (FV 254), Oceanography: The Making of a Science Videotapes (FV 236), and the Oregon Sea Grant Communications Moving Images (FV 185). Moving image footage pertaining to fisheries is included in these collections as well as the Fisheries and Wildlife Films and Videotapes (FV 243). The Special Collections and Archives Research Center also includes the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences Records (RG 173) and Department of Atmospheric Sciences Records (RG 167).

Preferred Citation: College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences Motion Picture Films and Videotapes (FV 203), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Processing Information: This collection is not fully processed; this guide is preliminary.

Other URL: A preliminary container list was created for this collection on or before November 14, 2014.

College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences Motion Picture Films and Videotapes, 1968-1998

Collection Overview

Abstract

Scope and Content Notes

Biographical / Historical Notes

Administrative Information

Creators

People, Places, and Topics

Forms of Material