AMERICAN SETS NEW DEEP-SEA DIVING RECORD

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 August 1949, Page 6

AMERICAN SETS NEW DEEP-SEA DIVING RECORD

NEW YORK, August 16.—A marine explorer, Dr Otis Barton, of Boston, today set a new world record for a deep-sea dive by descending 4500 I'eet in a steel benthoscope. The previous record was 3208 feet, set by Dr Barton and Mr William Beebe, off the Bermudas in 1934. x Dr Barton’s descent today was made off Santa Cruz Island, California. The lights in his benthoscope failed at 4100 feet, but the crew on his barge continued laying out cable so that Dr Barton could see what he could without lights. Fifty-seven minutes after it began the descent, the benthoscope had sunk 4500 feet, and Dr Barton remained at that depth for 80 minutes before asking to be'brought to the surface. Dr Barton suffered greatly from cold during the descent. He kept up a running commentary by telephone.' “This is an unbelievable . world down here,” Dr Barton told his crew over the telephone. He said there were hordes of mysterious under-sea creatures swimming past. the thick crystal window of the diving bell. They included schools of fish of blinding brilliance. “There is a continuous barrage of spiralling shrimp hitting my window,” Dr Barton said. “They are all luminous. They seem to splash when they hit. There is a long, thin animal, brilliantly lighted. I cannot identify it, but it is probably an eel.”