To Find What Lives Four Miles Under Sea

Chronicle (Levin), 1 February 1949, Page 5

To Find What Lives Four Miles Under Sea

AUCKLAND, Jan. 31. New Zealand peientists will be invited to join the deep sea seientific. expedition arranged by the Danish Government to carry out researeh in Australian and New Zealand waters during 1930 and 1951. Tlie Danish leader of the expedition is Dr. Anton Brunu, who was iuterviewed in Auckland where he is attending the Pacilic .Science Congress. • Dr. Brunn is deputy-keeper of the , Zoological Museum at Copenliagen Uni- j versity. He said he \yas meeting scien- 1 tists during his visit who might be I interested in joining his expedition, the pnrpose of which was to detennine whether there was any type of marino, life at depths ranging from 20,000 to 30,000 feet. ! At present nobody knew whether j there was any marine life at a depth . of approximately four miles as explor- 1 ation had never been carried out before. he said. The deepest parts of the New Zealand and Australian coasts would bc ; trawled with a hemp fishing basket I attached to 45,000 feet oi' wire rope. The rope would weigh between 16 and ! inch tliick. • 1 18» tons and be from one-half .to one j The greatest depth known in the j Pacifie was east of Mindanao in the I Philippines where depths up to 30,000 feet had been reoorded. The expedition would leave •Copen hagen in June, 1950, ^and after entering [the Pacifie via the Panama ' Canal, | would explore depths off the west coast of South America. Work would be carried Out oil Easter Island, Tahiti, Sava, Tonga and the Kermadec Islands uortheast of New „ Zealand. lt was hoped to spend Christmas at Auckland in 1950. Following • exploration soutk of Tasmania and ihe Great Australian Bight, the expedition would cali at Sydney before sailing- north to New Caledonia, New Guinea, the Philippines, f Bandq Sea and Celebes Sea.. Eeseareli work would be carried out in the Indian Ocean before the return .tc Denmark. ' *