CHAPTER XII 

 Methods of Oceanographical Research 



Until the nineteenth century the great oceans of the 

 world were comparatively little known to man. That is 

 to say, although by then much of the actual geography 

 of the seas had been mapped out, the world that lived 

 beneath the surface of the water and the conditions to be 

 found there were as a closed book to mankind. 



At this day our knowledge is considerably increased and 

 a study of the ways and means by which the discoveries 

 have been made discloses the obvious dependence of 

 oceanography upon the advance of other branches of 

 science and the improvements of mechanical engineering. 

 For exploring the greatest depths of the ocean, for instance, 

 the advantages to be gained by the employment of steam 

 or motor winches for hauling in the great weights of gear 

 and rope are manifest. The introduction of wire cable to 

 replace the hemp ropes in 1874 inaugurated a noteworthy 

 advance. The ropes required for heavy work had, of 

 necessity, to be extremely thick, and the space required to 

 stow many thousands of fathoms of such material was 

 great, whereas very much thinner wire provides the same 

 strength and takes up infinitely less room, and can be kept 

 wound upon the drum of the hauling winch. 



One of the first investigations in a study of the sea was 

 to find the depths at which the sea floor lay below the surface 

 from place to place. While originally the purposes of 

 sounding were to aid in navigation, and the depths in only 

 comparatively shallow waters were sought, with the 



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