Five Miles Under the Sea

Hokitika Guardian, 10 December 1921, Page 4

Five Miles Under the Sea

(Uy A Marine Engineer.) Deep-sea sounding of late years has become a very exact science. No idea of the difficulties involved can lie gathered simply by watching a vessel sounding oil our shallow coasts. It is when a ship reaches the oceans, thousands of miles from land-, that tl real work begins. To sink a lead to a quite shallow' depth is the easiest thing in the world. Hut when it comes to working in miles sailors are brought

up against a, very different problem. Even to-day nobody knows exactly where the greatest depth exist, for the simple reason that no instrument at present invented ( -aii reach the bottom n the deepest purls. A theory accredited bv scientists is

that Mow a certain depth solid matter refuses to sink, because the pressure gravity is overcome.

It is widely held that when ships • ink in the deepest parts of the ocean they never reach the bottom, hut float about suspended in the water at a depth below which tlieir weight is not sufficient to take them.

In support of this theory it may be stated that the greatest depth which has been sounded up to the present is just over live miles. Hut it is thought that parts of the ocean are perhaps four times as deep, and marine engineers are anxious to find some means of proving this. Tn this branch of nautical research wonderful instruments are used. Attached to the leads of the sounders which weigh 701 b. anti arc suspended on piano wire, are specially Constructed | cups which close automatically and bring up samples of the ocean’s bed. They are provided with a dial upon which the depth touched by the lends is at once recorded, and are in use in all ocean-going cable ships, which must of necessity determine of wlmt the ocean bed consists. Time after time ships working in far sens have seen no record of solid matter readied hv rending the sounder dial because tip, leads are not sufficiently heavy to penetrate deep enough. Ali records that exist at the present dav may very soon he broken by the Sbiiekleton Expedition. The grab-sin-ker which they will use can be employed at a depth of seven miles. What will be found nobody <-an say. All existing theories may be exploded, but it is certain that some interesting data will l>e forthcoming. Naturally, deep sea sounding is essential from many points. Fog is the sea-

man’s enemy. Soundings Inust be taken frequently to avoid disaster. Formerly the leads used were smeared with tallow. Many interesting specimens wcr e brought to the surface, but - nothing is known ol the Horn, and fauna that exist at great depths. Hem- 0 the constant attempts to discover better sounding apparatus.