Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1892-05-05
IN OH OCEANS DEPTHS.
Contradiction of the Old Figures in II
gard to the Great Depth of the Ocean


The Marine Journal, speaking on the
topic of ocean depths, says;
The exploration of the ocean depths is d
subject that is receiving a great deal of
attention at the present. 1t was first begun
in earnest by a British vessel in 1869. In
more recent years the naval vessels,
Adams, Alliance, Dolphin, Swatara,
Thetis, Trenton, the coast survey craft
Blake, and the fish commission steamer
Albatrossi have been engaged in this in
teresting work
II was supposed few years ago that the
ocean bottom was largely a counterpart of
the land features of the globe, with its
mighty mountain ranges pushing up
towards the surface of the sea, and deer,
valleys and glens sinking To almost UNI
fathomable depths. This is found to be
true only to limited extent Here and
there, to be sure, mighty mountains push
towards the surface or rise above it, form
ing Islands; and then, again. the bottom
sinks in narrow trough as off the north
east coast of Japan, until il seems as though
the sounding line could never measure its
depth. But the ocean bed, in the main, is
found gently TO undulate, and would an
pear,if it could be observed, as of a slightly
rolling plain.
It has been found also that we used to
nave very exaggerated views Of ocean
III ll6 udN Int great
authority upon the ocean, popularized the
idea that depth Of eight OF nine miles
might be found in mid ocean. We know
now that depth of five miles is very
exceptional. General Won Tile, who has
made the latest determinations of ocean
depths, fixes the mean depth of all the
oceans at !, SOB meters, or about ", 700 feet,
That IS to say. less than two and a-half
miles. The Pacific ocean averages about | 100
feet deeper than the Atlantic. The North
Atlantic is deeper than the Southern
Atlantic, and the Arctic Ocean grows
swallow the nearer the pole is approached
Very. interesting facts have been dis
covered with regard to the great distances
from land at which the sediment brought
down by mighty rivers is spread over the
SEA bottom. Those giants among rivers,
the Niger and the Congo, produce most
marked effects upon the nature of the de-
| posts AT The bottom Of the ocean. II has
| pcen found that the sea bed for hundreds
| ol miles from land from the Gulf of
Guinea 70 Loanda, has been filled up 10 an
enormous extent by the dark colored soft
muds brought down by the rivers; and on
the mouth Of the Congothe shore mud has
been traced to a depth Of 1900 feet At d
distance OF 600 miles from land In the
bay OF Bengal and the Arabian Sea, the
sediment from the Indus and the ,,anges
is spread out over the greater extent of the
oceans floor. Antarctic ice brings as far
north as 4Oo south latitude the debris from
lands perhaps still unknown. DR.. Murray
says. however, that toward the central
| parts OF the oceans il is difficult 10 trace
| the ordinary river detritus in the deposits
there forming.
Before the Challenger expedition only
SIX deep sea fishes were known. To-day
about ~ times rs many forms of deep sea
ME are familiar 70 occanographers. We
can form some idea Of the abundance Of
lie existing III some regions at depth of
Two and a.half miles
One very interesting fact seems to have
been established by the recent inyostiga.
tons in the Pacific Of our fish commission
steamer Albatruss. II has long been known
hat the group of animals characteristic OF
Nc upper part OF oceanic waters is en-
tireiy distinct from the forms of life near
and at the bottom of the sea.
| The n;lturalists of this vessel have found
that The forms ot sea life in the upper por.
ton Of the ocean waters may descend 10 d
| depth oil I'D feet Or 50 from the surface,
| bnt there then succeeds n barren zone
| which continues to wiihii $50 10 800 fect
| from the bottom, where the deep sea ami
mails begin to appear.
AS a rule these deep sea animals have no
eyes, showing that they have no need oi
| them. The fact that they are subjected Il
enormous pressure is shown by many Of
them bursting open when brought to the
| surface. Some OF them have very bright
colors, and they are found most abun
dantly along the COURSES OF the great cur
rents, showing that these rivers in III,
ocean bring large amount of food for tn,
deep sea fauna.
l.ie oceanic studies referred to here arc
only small part of the work of these OK
petitions. They have been rich in result:
concerning the nature and extent of th,
currents, the color and transparency Of "a,
water, the temperature at various DEPTHS
polar ice, the formation and dimension.
of waves, and various other phenomena
and he extensive literature now accessbl,
relating to the sea in all its aspects show
that rapid progress is making in oceano
sraphy. the youngest Of the sciences.