OCEAN RESEARCH

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 93, 14 January 1929, Page 11

OCEAN RESEARCH

DEEP-SEA SECRETS REVEALED CRUISE OF THE DANA DANISH EXPEDITION AT WELLINGTON That there are more fish in the eea loan ever came out of it is a truism that is beiug scientifically and systematically exploited by the company of the Royal Danish research ship, Dana, which arrived at Wellington yesterday morning. In his wildest dream, the average fisherman never visualised such weird and wonderful creatures as are being trawled from the ocean depths by this little ship, in the coarse of her two years’ voyage round the world. The expedition's visit to New Zealand is of outstanding interest, as it is the first of its kind since the historic visits ■ of Charles Darwin, in H.M.S. Beagle, in ISlio, and of Challenger, in 1874.

The Dana expedition was arranged jointly by the Carlsberg Foundation, a Danish fund for the furtherance of scientific research, anti the Danish Government's committee for the exploration of the seas. The Dana, which is now owned by the Danish Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, is a ship of 360 tons register. She was originally built in Glasgow in 1917 for use as a minesweeper. • After the war she was taken to Copenhagen and fitted out for deep-sea fisheries research and oceanographical work. In general appearance she is a typical trawler, somewhat larger than the Nora Niven or the Futurist, but internally she is most elaborately fitted for her important scientific duties. The Dana is a veritable floating museum and scientific laboratory. Notwithstanding her small size and the extent of her scientific departments, the ships comfortably houses seven officers, six scientists, and a crew of 24. Neat and trim in a coat of white paint, the Dana is conspicuously clean, although while she is at sea she is daily engaged in deep-sea trawling and sounding. Prominently displayed in her wardroom are photographs of the patrons of the expedition—King Christian X and Queen Alexandrine of Denmark. Prince Valdemar, Admiral of the Danish Navy, who is a brother of the late Queen Alexandra, and the Prime Minister of Denmark. Personnel of the Expedition. The leader of the expedition is Dr. Johannes Schmidt, D.Sc., Ph.D., director of the famous Carlsberg Laboratory of Copenhagen, and a scientist of worldwide repute. Dr. Schmidt, who was obliged to return to Denmark early in the voyage and who is rejoining the ship at Wellington, warmly welcomed the ship’s company when she berthed at the King’s Wharf yesterday. His greetings were supplemented by those of Mrs. Schmidt, who speaks English perfectly, and of a number of Danish residents of Wellington. Dr. P. Jespersen, Ph.D., chief zoologist, is second in command, and the other scientists are: Dr. N. C. Andersen, surgeon and scientific assistant; Dr. A. Brunn, M.Sc., zoologist; Dr. H. Thomsen, M.Sc., hydrographer; and Dr. E. Nielsen, M.Sc., botanist. The ship's officers are: Captain 11. Christensen; Lieutenant S. Greve, Royal Danish Navy; Lieutenant C. Ries, Royal Danish Navy; Lieutenant P. Vogt. Royal Danish Navy, chief engineer; Mr. N. Seirup, second engineer; Mr, K. Frohn, third engineer; Mr. A. Mou. radio operator and assistant hydrographer. Of the crew of 24 the seamen are chiefly Danish fishermen and the stokers belong to the Danish Navy. A Two Years’ Cruise. The present is the second voyage of the Dana, which in 1920-22 carried out extensive research into the spawning habits of eels, general deep-sea fish life and oceanographical work in the North Atlantic from Europe as far afield as the West Indies, with a brief visit to the Bay of Panama in the Pacific. Since leaving Copenhagen on June 14, 192 1, the Dana has visited Britain, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Gibralta, Madeira, and Martinique in the West Indies. After passing through the Panama Canal in September the Dana started her investigations in the Pacific, her cruise involving calls at the Marquesas Islands, Tahiti. Rarotonga, Samoa, Ftji, New Caledonia, and New Zealand. After leaving the Dominion the Dana will proceed to Sydney and Brisbane and thence via New Caledonia and Fiji to Guam. Japan, China, Siam, Java and Singapore. From the East Indies the Dana will continue her cruise across the Indian Ocean to Madagascar, thence northward to the Red Sea and homeward via the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean to Copenhagen, where she is due some time in June, 1930. Throughout her wanderings the Dana keeps in constant communication by short-wave radio with Denmark. Organised Deep-sea Research. While at sea the scientific work goes on unceasingly. Prominent features on the foredeck of the Dana are two powerful winches for working the trawls and nets of various sizes. There is the ordinary otter-board trawl net, and there are special nets of various sizes for operating at different depths. The Dana is remarkable for her elaborate equipment for specialised and simultaneous research work. In addition to the trawling gear, there are several steam winches for deep-sea sounding work and to operate the instruments used for taking samples of water at various depths. One winch carries 10,000 metres (about 5000 fathoms) of fine steel wire, thus enabling operations to be carried out to a depth of 30,000 feet, at which the weight of the wire is very considerable. A typical day's work is the carrying on of trawling at depths up to, say, 3500 fathoms. In addition to the net working at that depth, the wire carries others at regular intervals of 2000, 1000, 500, 250,

and 100 fathoms, and possibly less, thus securing simultaneous “hauls” of specimens from different “strata.” At the same time water samples will be taken at corresponding depths. The water “bottles” used are ingenious and elaborate contrivances, which are set to fill and seal themselves at the required depths. They are fitted with special thermometers which record the temperature of the water at the different 'depths an which are so sensitive that they will register accurately to a one-hundredth part of one degree centigrade. The samples of water are analysed and tested for density and salinity, and also to ascertain their content of oxygen, nitrates and phosphates. The delicate natim of the apparatus used is such that th* presence of as little as five milligrammes of phosphorus in one cubic metre (one ton) of Sea water can be detected. Wireless Depth-Finding. Besides all this the liydrographers are constantly at work taking deep-sea soundings and investigating ocean currents on the surface and at different depths. In addition to various types of sounding machines which can only be used when the ship is stationary, the Dana is fitted with a sonic or wireless depth finder, a wonderful machine which is seen in New Zealand for the first time. A development of a war-time invention, the machine is marvellously accurate, and enables systematic soundings to be made while the ship is under weigh al full speed. In the bottom of the ship are three diaphragms to which are imparted wireless electrical impulses causing a whistling note to be sent at regular intervals through the water, which is an excellent conductor of sound. The sound waves, travelling at a known speed of 1500 metres per second, strike the bed of the ocean and rebound exactly like an echo, and are rec-aught by a receiver in the machine. Thus, the time taken to complete the travel of the sound is recorded and divided by two to give the time taken for the wave to travel to the bottom. As the rate of travel is known it is a simple matter to obtain the depth of water. Soundings are taken every two hours at se.a. and up till last Saturday a total of 2056 had been recorded (luring the cruise of the Pacific. The greatest depth recorded so far was over 5000 fathoms, or about 31,000 feet, at a point east of the Kermadec Islands. This depth of over six miles will doubtless be exceeded in other parts of the Pacific; for example, in the vicinity of the Philippine Islands, where the ocean is known to be much deeper. Aji Interesting Discovery. . Since she left Auckland about a tortnight ago, the Dana has made a very interesting cruise off the coast of New Zealand. A privileged member of the ship's company was Mr. R. A. Falla, a well-known naturalist and ornithologist, of Auckland, who spent a very profitable time studying the habits and distribution of sea birds, including those frequenting the New Zealand coastal regions and those of more southerly latitudes. The scientific staff of the Dana carried out their routine duties over a course which took the ship from a point off Cuvier Island, Well outside the Bay of Plenty and East Cape, thence southward to a point about 150 miles west of the Bounty Islands, westward along the latitude of Stewart Island, and finally northward to Wellington. In addition to numerous hauls of deep-sea fish, Crustacea, and other marine life of considerable scientific interest, the Dana made a series of soundings at regular intervals. The very interesting discovery was made that the deep trough of Cook Strait runs in a well-defined direction and at a greatly increased depth far out from the coastline of New Zealand, while there are compaartively shallow 'areas in the latitudes of Kaikoura Peninsula and Banks Peninsula. Thus, while soundings ranging from 300 to 500 metres were obtained 200 miles off shore north and south of the Cook Strait line, the depth of the trough ran as high as 2870 metres. Another interesting discovery was the fact that the temperature of the ocean nt varying depths between Stewart Island and the Bounty Islands was very much below that further north. Stay at Wellington. The Dana will remain at Wellington until Thursday and will continue her

cruise through Cook Strait and westward of New Zealand as far ns North Cape, whence she will head for Sydney. A civic reception will be accorded Dr. Schmidt and other members of the expedition in the Town Hall at noon tomorrow. Dr. Schmidt bears greetings to the people of New Zealand from the Government and people of Denmark. At 2.45 p.m. on Wednesday there will be a public screening in the King’s Theatre of a kinema film sent out by the Danish Government depicting life and scenes in Denmark. Yesterday morning the expedition was formally welcomed by the Minister of Agriculture (Hon. G. W. Forbes), with whom was Mr. D. Ardell, representing the Internal Affairs Department, and Mr. A. E. Hefford, Chief Inspector of Fisheries, who has acted in close co-operation with the expedition since its arrival in New Zealand.