The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-10-30
FLOOR OF THE OCEAN
SUMMARY OF THE DISCOVERIES
MADE THEREON BY MOD
ERN SCIENCE
OVER FORTY GREAT DEEPs
Than Five Miles The Deep Sea
Contains No More Remnants of
Ancient Fauna Than Shallow
Waters Do-RegiOn of Darin ess
and Low Temperature.

The difficulties connected with the eX-
ploration Of the greater depths of the sea
arise principally from the fact that, in
the majority Of cases, the observations
are necessarily indirect. AT the surface
Of the ocean direct observation is possible,
but our knowledge of the conditions pre-
vailing in deep water, and of all that Is
there taking place, is almost wholly de-
pendent upon the correct working of in
stIuments, the action of which at the
critical moment is hidden from sight. 1t
was the desire to establish Geographic
communication between England and
America that gave the first direct impulse
to the scientific exploration of the great
ocean basins, and at the present day the
survey of new cable routes still yields
each year a large amount of accurate
knowledge regarding the floor Of the
ocean.
The recognition of oceanography as a
distinct branch of science may be said
to date from the commencement of the
Challenger Investigations. The fuller
knowledge we now possess about all
oceanic phenomena has had great mod
flying influence many general concep-
tions as to the nature and extent of those
changes which the crust of the earth
is now undergoing and has undergone In
past geological times. Our knowledge OF
the ocean is still very incomplete. So
much has, however, already been ac-
quired that the historian will in all prob
ability point to the oceanographical dis
coveries during the past forty years as
the most important addition to the nat
ural knowledge of our planet since the
great geographical voyages associated
with the names of Columbus, Da Cana
and Magellan at the end of the fifteenth
and the beginning of the sixteenth CEN
turtles
WATER SOUNDINGS.
All measurements of depth, by which
we ascertain the relief of that part of the
earth's crust covered by water, are re-
ferred to the sea surface; the measure
ments of height on the land are likewise
referred to sea level. The soundings over
the water surface of the globe have &C
cumulated at a rapid rate during the
past fifty years. In the shallow water,
where it Is necessary to know the depth
for purposes Of navigation, the sound1ngs
may now be spoken of as innumerable;
the 100-fathom line surrounding the land
can therefore often be drawn in with
much exactness. Compared with this
shalloW-water region the soundings In
deep water beyond the 10O-fathom line
are much less numerous. Each year,
| however, there are large additions to our
| knowledge. Within the last decade over
| 10000 deep soundings have been taken by,
British ships alone. The deep soundings
| are scattered over the different ocean
| basins in varying proportions, being now
| most numerous in the North Atlantic and
| Southwest Pacific, and in these two re-
gions the contour lines Of depth may be
! drawn in with greater confidence than In
| the other divisions of the great basins.
, On the whole it may be said that the
| general tendency of recent soundings is
| to extend the area with depths greater
| than 1000 fathoms, and to show that
numerous volcanic cones rise from the
| general level of the floor Of the ocean
| basins up to various levels beneath the
! sea surface.
| 1t appears that considerably more than
| half of the sea-f1oor lies at depth ex-
| ceeding 1000 fathoms, or over two geo
graphical miles. On the Challenger charts
all areas where the depth exceeds 3,ooo
fathoms have been called "deeps, ana