Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1858-08-04
The Physical Geography Of the Sea.


The above is the title of new work by
Lieut. Maury of the National Observatory at
Washington.
This book is the most elaborate of the
works published in this country; probably
the ablest heretofore published IN the world.
designed especially to observe, record, and
classify all the phenomena upon the science OF
meteorology and navigation. This Is preem-
ineutly practical age of ours, all scientific
truths are mainly sought out, because OF their
bearing IN promoting the comfort, welfare and
! happiness of the human race. Hence induc-
tive scene, in opening up the two grand fields
| of modern discovery, the ocean and atmos-
| phere, is mainly engaged in exploring them
! because of their tendency to facilitate COM
| mercial intercourse between the old and new
continents.
Lieut. Maury, if not the protector. has at
| least been the most successful collector OF
facts respecting the winds, tides, currents,
| and temperature of the OCEAN; the results of
which, entitled WINDS and Currents Charts" !"
he published few years since.
The use OF these charts have already re-
duccd fully % per cent. the time required 20
make voyages in sailing vessels across the
| great oceans Of our globe. The most of the
Inaratime nations Of the world sent delegates
to conference at Brussels in 1858, and
|
vations throughout the world on land and
ocean, that before long must be collected and
published, will be of incalculable value to
physical science and the commerce of the
world.
The English Admiralty have organized a
I department to superintend these observations,
and the National Observatory at Washington,
under Lieut. Maury,s superintendent, has
now the benefit Of nearly all our army and
naval officers. and thousands of accurate OBJ
servers connected with our commercial ma
rine. are engaged In OBSERVING and noting
facts, which, when they have been arranged
and classified by such a mind as MaurYs,
must be Of great value to advance science
and promote the welfare of man.
| That mighty river of warm water in the
Atlantic ocean, the Gulf Stream, moving on
ward with a current one thousand times great
er in volume, and more rapid in its velocity
| than the Mississippi river, has become, in
stead of a bugbear, boon to navigation.
In regard to the causes Of this remarkable
phenomenon we cannot in the present state
of science satisfactorily answer; though We
do know that the theory of DR.. Fraklin here
tofore generally adhered to is not in accor-
dance with the facts and observations since
made. Whatever be the cause which propels
this mighty current Of heated water from the
torrlu zone into the North Atlantic ocean, It
there produces very marked effects upon the
climate eff that otherwise inhospitable region.
and causes most of the food necessary to feed
the starving whale and other sea monsters
that inhabit rs geld waters
Another remarkable fact established by
these observations is that nearly double the
quantity Of rain falls north of the equator to
what falls south of it. The mean annual fall
Of rain, eyaporated principally from the tor
+ rid zone, an by the wiads and currents OF
, the atmosphere, earricu abroad and deposited
in the form Of moisture. is estimated as equal
to an ocean "A, 900 miles long, 5000 miles
| broad and 16 feet deep. s'This immense
! amount of water is annually raised up into
r the sky aud brought down again by the ex.
f qulsite, though somewhat complex, medium
| of atmosphere, which never wears out. break.
down nor fails to do its work at the rish
time and in the right way"
, In regard to the depth of the ocean. former
experiments were reported to have been made
of soundings to the depth of 80 40 ana
even so, 600 feet without reaching the bottom
But more recent and more reliable expert
ments have shown that the greatest depth o
the ocean does not exceed 900 feet. q
four and three quarter miles. They hav,
also found ridge on telegraph plateaa, e1
tending from Cape Clear in Ireland, to Cap
Race in Newfoundland, distance of l ,64t
miles. at no point exceeding 10000 fee
deep. On this ridge the effort is being mad
70 deposit the Atlantic Telegraph Gable