American Scientist

To the Editors:

The caption for the first image in Naomi Oreskes’s article “Operational Oceanography” (March–April) states, “The advent of nuclear submarines made it crucial to understand the oceans’ depths, which led the U.S. Navy to fund oceanographic research into deep-sea currents.”

Is this a reference to nuclear-powered submarines, or to submarines armed with nuclear missiles? Perhaps both usages are intended, but the loose use of the word “nuclear” leaves the question up in the air. Linking nuclear power with nuclear weapons in a reader’s mind does our energy-dependent society no good.

Michael Attas
Pinawa, Manitoba