Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1857-05-21
Geography Of the Deep.

OF the Navy, very interesting letter, from
which we make the following extracts:
The Investigations carried on in the Hydro i,
graphical Department of this Office possess, in 6
some of their results an interest not exclusively
maratime, but of sufficient public concern to
justify special report 10 you. I
Commander Rodgers of the North Pacific c
Surveying Expedition, has furnished few OBJ c
servations made on board the United States
ship Vincennes, last year, on the temperature
and specific gravity of The water at the sur face,
midway, and at the bottom of the rctic a
ocean. /,
These observations are highly interesting,
tie passed up through Behring's Straits into
that sea during the summer of 1856, and,
though he remained IN it but few days, he ;
avalled himself Of the opportunity to try the
temperature and specific gravity of the water in
various depths and places and his observations {
show uniformly This arrangement or siratifcation
in the fluid mass of that ocean-warm and light
water on top. cold water in the middle and
warm and heavy water a, the bottom.
These observ ations, if extended, would go
far towards the final set cement of the question
of an open sea in the Arctic ocean
In these experiments Commander Rodgers
used as check upon his two metallic deep sea
thermometers non conducting cylinder of his
own contrivamce fer bringing specimens of sater
from various depths. 1t is well he d id so for
the metallic therm)mate ters showed themselves TO
be incapable of affordng the resnits he sought
to obtain !; nor did the two agree with each 9TH
er nor were The observations of either accordant
with themselves.
You will observe, therefore, that the thermal
observations which have revealed 10 US this sug-
gestve arrang ement of coo and warm water
J in the frozen ocean were made ith a common
" mercurial thermometer upon the water from the
several depths after it had been brought up TO
the surface in the cylinders. The specific erav-
e iy is given for the temperature at which il i,
observed.
: are obliged to omit the minute tabular
Is details of specific gravlies and temperature at
different depths, longtudes attitudes. dates.
J. experimental trials, state of the sea Be
D." 1t is likely that this warm water went in as
u an under current. that though warner it was
N saller and for that reason it was heavier. 1t
q was made saer by conjecture, by evaporation :
y and while it was subjected to this process it
ID was in some latitude where it received heat
~ while il was giving off fresh water vapor. This
~ mostiatum of heavy water was therefore, prob
y ably within the tropics and at the surface when
he received its warmth, Water we know, is
u transported 10 great distances by the under cur
'0 rents of the sea without changing It's temper
W ature but few degrees by the way. Beneath
W the Gulf stream. near the tropic of Cancer, and
T. in the month of August, with the surface Of
the>ocean about 80 degrees, the deep sea ther-
e. momeler OF the Coast Survey reports curren,
'u Of cold water only three degrees above the
freezing point. The cold current on the water
cl- that il bore must certainly have come from The
no polar regions.
ld' We know Of numerous currents flowing ou
nd of the Polar basin and discharging immen sc
ef, volumes of water into the Atlantic we know
of but nne surface current and that feeble one
- around the North Cape, that goes into this basin
All these oming currents are salt water cur
Fps rents therefore we cannot look for th cir gen
to esis TO the river of hypelborean America, Eu
rope and Asia, and the precipitation of the Pc
ir. lar basin-fnr all the watel from these source
rds is fresh water. The salt that these upper cur
tho rents bring out is sea salt hence we should b.
ast forced to conclude, were there no other evi
dence to warrant the conclusion, that there mus
his be one or more under currents of sa and heay
water flowing into the Arctic basin.
ou. A considerable body of water at the temper
our ature Of 40 degrees rising to the surface there
OF as come to the surface it mus, in order to sur
has ply the outgoing upper currenis--woud ten
nightly TO mitigate the severe cold of those b,
'se perborean re gions.
The discovery of Rodgers furnishes the onI
nan link that seems 10 be wanting in the chain
reasoning to complete from known facts II
e.. theory of an open water in the Arctic ocean
OF and tn is discovery, ,aken in connection wi,
what northern voyagers tell US concerning III
IN, migration Of animals in those reg ions, wit
'me wha, DR.. Kane saw and De Haven says an
rom the fact thai harpoons fastened in whales on II
heir shores of Greenland, have been taken gu,
les whales along the shores Of Kamscha,ka al
ana Japan.
HIM These facts taken in connection W ith the d
covery which my own researches have fully d
velopcd, that The rgh, whale Of Greenland al
live the right whale of the North Pacific are I,
dds same fish, and that to it the iorrd zone is a:
sea of flame. VIII ch il cannot pass | say the
to- facts linked together and taken in connects
but with other facts and circumstances, which a
set forth at length in the publications OF Il
med office. seem TO form a cham Of auliless circu
'arly stancial evidence showing 'he ex's'e"ee o'
open water in the Polar basin.
Cou'd it b, explored, there are other eircu
stances to encourage the expectation that
dan nursery of the whales would be discovered the
n;,v ,y,b other sources Of wealth to our enterprise
will fishermen.
II be Deep sea souudings, with specimen Of
then bot,om. have also been returned 10 this off
ed.r from tina, expedition. They were taken iul
North Pacific with Brooke's apparatus, and ha
aela been studied through the microscope Of Prores
Bailey, at West Point.
They all tell the same story They teach
per- that the quiet Of the grave reiens everywh'
thot