4o8 



EDWARD STEIDTMANN 

 TABLE XVII 



37 per cent, of which fully 90 per cent is derived from the remains 

 of calcareous organisms living near the surface of the sea. How- 

 ever, the 37 per cent calcium carbonate at the sea bottom merely 

 represents the difference between solution and deposition. Solu- 

 tion of the calcareous remains according to the Challenger report 

 is a very important process, resulting principally from the genera- 

 tion of carbonic acid by the decay of the dead organisms. 



It is to this fact that the decrease in calcium carbonate with 

 depth is supposed to be due. See Tables XVII and XVIII. 



TABLE XVIII 



Table Showing Relation of CaC0 3 to Depth of Water, Taken from 

 Challenger Report 



