Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-25
GRAVITY EXPLORER
WORKS IN CAPITAL
Dutch Scientist Speeds Plans
to Start Cruise of Sea Bot
tom in u. S. Submarine.


Demonstrating that he is man OF
action as we'll as science, DR.. F. r
Vening MeineSz. Dutch scientist who
explores the bottom of the ocean III
submarines, lost no time after his ar
rival in Washington yesterday getting
things in readiness for one OF the
strangest of scientific expeditions under
the general auspices OF the Naval OBJ
Servatory.
His purpose in coming here is to CO.
onerate with the Navy, the Coast ana
C;eodetic Survey and the Carnegie In
stitution of Washington in study that
will determine with almost absolute ac-
curacy the contour of the earth under
the sea. The submarine S-2l, IN which
tie scientists of the expedition VIII &c
termine the force Of gravity with Dr
Nemesis new device for use at sea-
docked yesterday afternoon at tne
navy ward. Her commander. Lieut.. j.
7, Fisher, U. S. N. is getting the big
Inder-sea craft ready for the departure
of the expedition about October l.,
whose first objective will be the waters
of the West Indies Two eagle boats,
Nos. IS and So, also will accompany
the expedition. These will be used lot
depth soundirgs and radio tests.
Sets UP Device.
Two hours after his arrival here on
his first visit to Washington DR.. MelneSZ
plunged into the preliminaries necessary
TO the expedition. His first task was
TO set up in the Gravity station OF tne
Coast and Geodetic Survey. WIN lne
assistance of DR.. A. l.. Day. the almost
uncannv instrument he has devised IN
determining for the first time IN tne
history of science the accurate !oIce
of gravity at sea. When DR.. MelneSZ
stresses accuracy. he speaks with scien-
tific knowledge. for the pendulum APP
naratus he uses in this undersea STUDY
IS 81 delicately attuned that the maxi
mum error it can make is estimated at
three hundred thousandthS part OF
q unit of gravity.
For the next few days DR.. Meinesz
will be engaged at the Gravity Statlon
in comparing his results of previous
studies with the standard instruments
of the United States. In this way ne
plans to connect the American gravity
net with that of Holland and the oceanic
net already developed by himself IN
cruise by Dutch submarines around the
world. ,,x
IL there Is lIle SllSllOCSG Wv Va NN~
ference in the instruments" he ex-
nIained. "everything will go wrong"
DIR. Meinesz would like to see some
thing of the beauties of Washington
about which he has heard LOTT only
he could spare the time. In New YORK
he paused to marvel at the SkyscraperS.
SO foreign to his native Holland. Upon
his arrival here he was in such a hurry
to consult with Capt. G. S. Freeman,
superintendent of the Naval ObserVa-
tory, that his machine stopped only to
leave his baggage at the Cosmos CLUB.
Locks Like Sea Captain.
He is bundle of nervous energy
this 4l-year-old 225-pounder from
Holland, who looks more like a roll
licking sea captain than scientlst
He has about him something OF the
breeziness of the sea he has traveied
beneath in submarines while he circled
the globe. Put him in foot pal! logs
and any coach would jump at the
chance to Mace him in the line. While
outward appearances may be deceptive,
mentally, however, DR.. Meinesz Is
juggler of figures and scientific terms
that would founder the ordinary lay
man. He is trimming over with en-
thusiasm, but when he speaks IN
scientific terms his voice is low and
calculated. He speaks English
f1uently.
ALTHOUGH DR.. Meinesz is seasoned
sailor. he follows the sea through the
necessity of his chosen line OF Sclen-
tific work. In one voyage from Hol-
land, through the Panama Canal to
Sumatra, he was lis days at sea
aboard a submarine somewhat smaller
than the S-21. His scientific lnves-
LEGATIONS under the Dutch Geodetlc
Commission correspond with similar
work that is being done in this country
through the Coast and Geooetlc sur
vey.
Once the exploration work is COM
Melted on the Atlantic continental shelf
and In the West Indies and other To-
calities. he will return here to recheck
his instrument.
Submarine Is Necessary.
A submarine is necessary in the work
of determining with true exactness the
force of gravity at the bottom OF the
ocean because it provides relatively
stable platform for his apparatus. His
device, constructed for use at sea, has
afforded science its first opportunity to
determine an accurate measurement OF
gravity under the water.
In determining the contour OF the
earth under the sea, a problem which
has interested science for centuries, DR..
Meinesz hopes also to add very mate
rally to the knowledge concerning
earthquakes and their causes and origin.
Scientists have already amassed a
wealth of knowledge about earthquakes
from their studies of the earth's crust
on land and while it is known that
stresses are the cause of earthquakes,
little opportunity has been given to
study them under the sea.
The expedition. which will take about
two months, will penetrate into the
Mares Deep north of Porto Rico, the
Bartlett Deep south of Cuba and the
Sigsbee Deep in the Gulf of Mexico,
and the intervening waters traversed
in reaching those spots. Much work is
to be done in the Mississippi Delta.
DR.. Meinesz will be accompanied
aboard the S-21 by Principal Scientist
Elmer S. Collins of the photographic
Office of the Navy and by DR.. Fred E.
Wright of the Carnegie Institution OF
Washington. Eagle Boat, No. IS Is
commanded by Lieut. Comdr. T. L.
Nash, who will be the senior officer
present with the expedition, while Eagle
Boat No. So will be commanded by
Lieut.. Conldr. l.. r. Moore.