Evening star., 1942-08-16
Exploring the Depths
Of the Oceans
By Frederic J. Haskin.

surprising to learn that many scientific
men predict a greater exploration of the
worlds seas in the next peacetime Pc
Rod The sea has always been vast
mysterious area in which are hidden
finding Of more of this and the develop
ment of more efficient and productive
methods Of obtaining the metal treasures
of ocean water that would bring about
wider study of the great deeps.
Sportsmen and members of scientific
expeditions have explored most of the
earth's surface in search of new and
rare types of the animal kingdom. In
the attainment Of their objective many
hardships and dangers have been faced.
but they have been able to select the
creatures they covet from a host OF
others deemed of no Importance. In
this they have had great advantage
over those who set out to obtain speci-
mems of the great wide sea. AS a result
of many years of experience, a rough
guess can be made as to the kinds OF
animals found in the sea at certain
times, but even then the searchers can
only hope that their efforts will be Sue
cessful They cannot pursue their quarry
after the fashion of the biggame hunter.
The sea still is mystery. Only along
the shore in rockpools and around coral
reefs can one be sure of the life being
produced. Out in the open ocean it Is
only a guess, for only by imagination
can the vast hosts of herring or mack
erel or cod be seen moving like an army
through silent waters. Moreover, only
by imagination can be visualized the
horGes of cuttlefish that levy toll on
creatures weaker than themselves, in
turn overhauled and decimated by
schools of whales This ceaseless car
mage no human eye has yet witnessed.
In addition to the constant produc-
ton and destruction of life under ocean
water, there is the added question Of
how far light can penetrate into the
mysterious depths Scientists have a
fair knowledge of the temperature Of
waters of the great deeps, they know
about the various currents that scour
the oceans, but they have been unable
to see down far enough to enable them
to speak intelligently of what is actually
going on in the Watery world.
Although the surface of the earth Is
divided into land and water the area
covered by water is vastly greater than
that covered by land, and this world Of
water is far older than the land. More
over, it was in water that life first came
into being. Again, while the great
ocean areas have persisted since the
world began, this is by no means true
of the land, which time and again for
millions of years alternately has been
submerged and thrust up. Marble floors
and halls, buildings made of stone, coal
mines and chalk cliffs all bear witness to
this. The dead bodies known as fos-
sils, which are often found entombed
in these ancient land masses, bear wit
ness to the strange types of animals
which have had their day and ceased
to be. And these, no less than the living
creatures of the present which the ex-
ploration of the sea reveals. all bear the
impress of the struggle for existence
which went on then as now.
Scientists would like to learn more
about this struggle for existence as it
relates to life in the ocean. To maintain
a hold on life all living bodies must eat,
but the food supply of given popula-
ton, whether it be for man or animals,
is nowhere inexhaustible. Sooner or later
the number of mouths to be fed will
create shortage of this supply, and this
may in time affect the food supply of
man.
Thus the oceans. long considered
avenues OF commerce, but now used
largely as warpaths, may have a new
significance and direct bearing on
mans food supply. Apparently the
supply of food derived from the ocean
is on the increase, but scientists point
out that 1t Is the gentler types of ocean
life that afford this supply and that in
time the ferocious water animals might
destroy all or most of the creatures that
have little or no defense. Only by taking
complete inventory of the oceans and
making study of life found in these
vast areas could any conclusions be
reached, and this inventory depends
upon more extensive explorations.
While anxious to learn more about sea
life, its production and destruction and
It's possible bearing on the future of men,
scientists are eager to make further dis
coyerles in the methods of extracting
more of the metal content of ocean
water. Gold is generally regarded as a
product of the earth. but the ocean is
full of gold. The content varies in diff
ferent parts of the world, but on the
Atlantic seaboard it is estimated at
SIS 900 per cubic mile AS an indica-
ton Of this, a few years ago a plant
was established near Wilmington N c..
for the extraction of bromine from the
ocean. In the first two years of the
plants operation it had added thousands
Of tons of bromine to the tanks of mil
lions of automobiles, but an estimated
$4,000 worth of gold, $4,000 worth of
silver, enough magnesium to build 100000
modern airplanes and enough common
salt to pave road from New York to
Washington had flowed back into the
sea, all because no devices had been
made to salvage this vast wealth.
Most of the important metals. such as
copper, nickel, iron, zinc. tin and lead.
all generally considered obtainable only
from the earth, are found in ocean water.
Tests have shown that these minerals
can be extracted and in some instances
already on profitable scale. Iodine,
sodium, radium. phorphorus. potassium
and many other ingredients used in the