BROKEN CABLES

Hokitika Guardian, 17 March 1930, Page 2

BROKEN CABLES

EARTHQUAKE IN ATLANTIC. LENGTHY REPAIR AA’ORK. L VANCOUVER, February 5. The work of repairing twelve of the cables in the Atlantic, broken by tile submarine earthquake in November, is now nearly complete. AH the breaks were confined to a section about 109 miles wide, extending from Newfoundland. between the Grand ‘Banks, and the Emerald and Sable Banks to at least as far south as the ' cables between New;York and the Azores. Reports from repair ships returning to Halifax differ as to the changes caused in the floor of the ocean. During portion of the period of repair, some commercial and Press cal fes for Canada and the United States- were relayed fronr London to Cape- Town, across the Southern Ocean to Australia, thence across the Pacific to \7ancouvor, • and by land wire to New York and Montreal, travelling nearly round the world. The Johm AV. Afackay, first cable shin to return to Halifax from the vicinity of the breaks, reported that after grappling for nearly a month, no trace of the, cable could be found. Instead of soft mud, common to the area, deposits of hard clay . wore brought up on the grapple hooks. It was believed the cables were buried beneath the mud.

THE OCEAN. FLOOR. . After being at sea two weeks, the Cambria returned reporting volcanic ash on the ocean floor, The cable, buried in place's, broke three times during repair attempts, and it was necessary to splice in fifty miles of new cable in-place of the buried parts, Soundings revealed very little difference in the depth of the- water. Only after a long search was the cable ship Faraday successful in finding No. 4 cable and splicing in'thirty miles of line. This cable was also buried in places. Bad weather forced

postponement of the repair job. Quantities of small shellfish and flora were discovered in unusual depths, and working without charts was said to be necessary, as the entire topography of the ocean floor had changed. Unable to find the AA’estern Union cable from New York to Faya I, Azores, after searching a month, the Lord Kelvin completed repairs to the New York—Bay Roberts, Newfoundland, cable, splicing 102 miles. One end bad been buoyed previously by the Cyrus Field. .This cable was laid in 1924. NO CHANGE 'IN LEVELS.'

A piece of silk stocking and portion of an issue of the London “Chronicle” were brought up by the Lord Kelvin’s grappling hooks. All the soundings taken from the ship revealed no and the ocean bod was composed of. grey mud, the same as when the cable was laid.

Captain Foote, of the Western Union cable, ship Cyrus Field, discredited reports that the bed of the ocean in the affected area had been materially changed by the earthquake. He reported only a few deviations of from one to eight foot, probably caused by slightly different positions of soundings. The Cyrus Field returned from Canso. where repairs were made' one of the cables. This cable was probably broken by a deposition of mud where the cable had spanned a gap in the ocean floor.