WONDERS OF THE DEEP SEA

Evening Star, Issue 14413, 8 July 1910, Page 8

WONDERS OF THE DEEP SEA

Recently in the chemical theatre at Manchester University Mr W. M. fat" tavsiill, keeper of the museum, lectured upon ‘ Deep Sea Life.’ _ Mr Tattersall said the' sea occupied about three-quarters of the surface of the globe, yet it was only within the last three-quarters of a century that any knowledge whatever had boon obtained as to the physical and biological conditions that obtained in its depths. It was formerly supposed that after one got to the depth of 300 fathoms the conditions became so peculiar and so utterly different from anythin" known above that depth as to preclude the possibility of any existence of life. 1 rofessor Forbes, the pioneer of nparine zoology in England, at the time of the laying of the Atlantic cables between Great Britain and America, suggested that the depths of the sea did contain life, at any rate, and prompted by the suggestions then given Dr Carpenter, Professor C. Wyvillo Thomson, and others undertook a series of dredging oiw?rations in deep water which revealed the presence of lifo under conditions different from those of shallow i water. As a result of those investigations there was organised _ the worldwide and famous expedition of the Challenger, which obtained results far above the expectations of thoso who promoted it. Since the date of that expedition numerous countries had sent out expeditions which continued and confirmed the work then begun. The object of the expedition was to discover the fauna and Horn, and the depth of the sea, the nature of the ocean floor, the temperature, and the composition of the sea water and the currents. Tho greatest depth found by the expedition was something like 4,600 fathoms, or about five miles, but the average depth of • I, e deep sea was about 2,500 fathoms, which would be nearly three miles. The pressure at that enormous depth could hardly be understood. While the pressure at the surface was between 141b and 151b to the square inch, at 2,500 fathoms it worked out to the inconceivable pressure of nearly three tons, and yet at that enormous depth animal life existed. It was found that there was total darkness from 100 fathoms, and other characteristics were extreme cold, and the absence of currents and of sound. Fishes wore found which were sightless, there being no provision of eyes, but tho animal was provided with long and sensitive feelers or fins. Other fishes provided their own light,

being equipped with long rows of phosphorescent organisms. A peculiarity of these creatures was that they were provided with very large and strong 3**'s, and this was attributed to the fact that there being an absence of vegetable growth at these vast depths the fish were carnivorous. Orustacaj—shrimps, crabs, ami spiders of enormous size—were found,'and the absence of currents was proved by the finding of sponges which had anchored themselves in the mud, and not, as in shallower seas, to rocks and stones to prevent them from being carried away.