The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-03-31
MAPS OF THE OCEAN.
SOME RECENT DISCOVERIES BY
 SCIENTISTS.

-Ahe temperature or the water
 How Ocean Bed Varies In Character
 The superficial area of the sea is two and a half times larger than that of the land, while it's mass of volume is enormous. Supposing that the bas- in holding the seas had been emptied at the time when Jesus Christ was born and assuming that some enormous river had been allowed to run into it at the rate of 1,093 cubic yards per minute, the basin would still be empty, as it would require total period of 500 years more before the seas would attain their present level.
 As fnay we'll be conceived, such a body of water must conceal many ex- traodinary things-but this is a possi- bllity which has attracted attention only within comparatively recent times. The study of the earth itself has been attended with lesser difficult ties, but we are now so familiar with our globe that its continents and is- lands are beginning to pail upon the curious mind, so that more attention is being given gradually to the ocean.
 Two of the most prominent ocean, ographers of modern times are the Prince of Monaco and M. J. Thoulet In 1899 the geographical congress which met at Berlin appointed a committee to prepare and publish bathymetric map. As the necessary funds were not available, the Prince of Monaco generously came forward and offered to take all the expenses upon himself, and the map was duly prepared in this way under the auspices of Messrs. Sauerwein and ToIlemer,
 This valuable map, says the scienti- fic American, has just been published and copy was presented quite re- gently to the Academic des Sciences It clearly shows the actual state of our knowledge regarding ocean depths and the outline or profile of submarine lands, all the data being based upon soundings so far taken by hydrogra- phers of all nations. Moreover, 1t al- so indicates the composition of sub- marine soils.
 So far but little is known about the bed of the ocean, but few broad fea- lures may easily be picked up very soon, so that after study of the Princes map 1t is not difficult to tram slate the different shadings of color in to differences of altitude, &c. The student will promptly discover that there are very many features of re- semblance between the earth above and that below the bosom of the vasty deep. In fact, one is practically a re- plica of the other, both possessing hills, plains, mountain peaks, valleys, ravines, Sc.
 The Atlantic Ocean for instance, covers two vast valleys; one of these passes between the Cape Verde Islands and the Azores and is of great depth. It runs close up to Europe and comes to an end close to the British Islands, where a ridge or crest of land separates it from the basin of the North Sea. The Aotsfer->valley runs in the main parallel to the first, from which it is separated by an elongated strip of land. of which the Azores forms a su- prarnarine continuation. This strip does not exceed a depth of 9,850 feet, while it's height amounts to 6,560 feet. The first valley like it's confrere. is also very deep, It's bottom being situat- ed at depth of nearly four miles below the surface.
 Passing along South America and leaving the Bermudas to the left, it passes along Newfoundland and La- brador, finally ending just south of Greenland. The sub-Alantic landscape thus consists of two vast parallel val leys, separated from each other by a range of mountains. Further north tn land lies higher and the sea is, rela- lively speaking, shallow. Between Greenland and the continent, close to Iceland and the Channels Islands, there is a huge plain free from any de- pression worthy of mention. It is quite clear that at one time England was con nected to the continent.
 The greatest ocean depths, however, are not found in the Atlantic, as there are veritable abysses to be met with on the other side of the globe. Close to New Zealand the water attains a depth of five and half miles in the Kernladec and Tonga ravines, which in themselves attain height og 29,53C feet, while they are separated from each other by chain of mountains B. $50 feet high. There is also the Aleu- tian rayine, with depth of 2S,000 feet
 Mostly, suquanaous scenery is mono tonous there are no abrupt declivi- ties or precipices, excepting in the vii cinity of the coasts or near islands of volcanic formation, everything being rounded off and smoothed down by the action of the water. Close to the land there is somewhat more variety. The European plateau, for instance slopes gradually away down into the depths and a fair view can be obtained there provided a maximum depth of 1,00( feet be not exceeded. At first, abundant vegetation and animal life are met with. but below the depth mentioned the scene changes; first the light grows dimmer and dinner, and the deeper we descend lower does the ther- meter fall, except in the case of the Mediterranean, where the temperature is. relatively speaking, high, as this sea contained in what is practically a closed basin.
 In the Atlantic, by means of special bottles invented by Dr. Richard one of the Prince of Monaco's callaborators the temperature of the water was taker for a depth of 19,6S6 feet. The surface temperature of 6S degrees fell to & degrees at a depth of 6,562 feet. After