Charles Bates Papers

Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
Copyright 2014
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
spcoll@ucsd.edu


Descriptive Summary

Languages: English
Contributing Institution: Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla 92093-0175
Title: Charles Bates Papers
Creator: Bates, Charles C. (Charles Carpenter), 1918-
Identifier/Call Number: SMC 0123
Physical Description: 0.25 Linear feet (1 archives box)
Date (inclusive): 1943-2010 (bulk 1943-1982)
Abstract: The collection consists of papers documenting Charles Bates's career, including courses taken at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) in 1943, and subsequent government service and consulting work.

Acquisition Information

Acquired 1997, 2011

Publication Rights

Publication rights are held by the creator of the collection.

Preferred Citation

Charles Bates Papers, SMC 123. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.

OFF-SITE STORAGE

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. ALLOW ONE WEEK FOR RETRIEVAL OF MATERIALS.

Biography

Charles Carpenter Bates was born in Illinois in 1918. He earned a B.S. in geology at DePauw University (1939) and worked briefly for the Carter Oil Company before being drafted into the Army. As an officer, he continued his education and participated in the first courses in military meteorology and oceanography taught by Harald Sverdrup at SIO in 1943. Captain Bates earned his M.A. in physics and meteorology from UCLA in 1944 and, shortly thereafter, provided meteorological and surf condition forecasts for amphibious operations in Europe and the Pacific. He received the first Ph.D. awarded in oceanography by Texas A & M University in 1953. Bates was a civilian scientist and administrator for various offices and programs of the U.S. Navy from 1946-1968, and science advisor to the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard from 1968-1979. His consulting firm, A.H Glenn & Associates (est. 1947), provides meteorological forecasting services for offshore drilling companies.
Bates is the author of many articles and books, including Geophysics in the Affairs of Man (1982), America's Weather Warriors (1986), and Hydro to Navoceano: 175 Years of Ocean Survey and Prediction (2005).

Scope and Content of Collection

The collection consists of papers documenting Charles Bates's career, beginning with his studies in military meteorology and oceanography under Harald Sverdrup at SIO in 1943. It contains material documenting Bates's subsequent service with the U.S. Army Air Force, the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Coast Guard, and one folder on the founding of his consulting firm, A.H. Glenn & Associates.

Relate Materials

SIO Biographical Files, SAC 5. Special Collections & Archives, UC San Diego.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Military meteorology -- Study and teaching
Weather forecasting
Oceanography -- Study and teaching
Ocean waves
Bates, Charles C. (Charles Carpenter), 1918- -- Archives
Sverdrup, H. U. (Harald Ulrik), 1888-1857

 

PAPERS

Box 1, Folder 1

Oceanography and meteorology courses with Harald Sverdrup 1943-1947

General

Includes class worksheet with sample data points for wave forecasting with Sverdrup-Munk method; the final examination for SIO's first Oceanography course.
Box 1, Folder 2

Operation Crossroads 1946

General

Includes index to Bates's working library at Far East Air Forces Weather Central.
Box 1, Folder 3

A. H. Glenn & Associates 1947-1981

General

Materials on the founding of the firm, and meteorological consulting for the offshore oil industry, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico.
Box 1, Folder 4

Vela Uniform correspondence 1964

Box 1, Folder 5

U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office correspondence 1965

Box 1, Folder 6

Lecture, "The ocean, its data, and the U.S. Coast Guard" 1969

Box 1, Folder 7

Summary, 1st Meeting of the Joint Marine Facilities Panel (Tokyo, Japan) 1970

Box 1, Folder 8

Partial manuscript, Geophysics in the Affairs of Mankind (Bates, Gaskell and Rice) ca. 1982

Box 1, Folder 9

Unpublished manuscript, Sea, Swell and Surf Forecasting for D-Day and Beyond: The Anglo-American Effort, 1943-1945 2010

Box 1, Folder 10

Photographic portrait 1965, 1975