6 EXPEDITION OF THE "ALBAl^ROSS," 1899-1900. 



largest being six and one half inches. We again brought up manganese 

 nodules at the equator in about longitude 138° W., and subsequently — 

 until within sight of Tahiti— we occasionally trawled manganese nodules. 

 As had been noticed by Sir John Murray in the " Challenger," these 

 manganese nodules occur in a part of the Pacific most distant from con- 

 tinental areas. Our experience has been similar to that of the " Chal- 

 lenger," only I am inclined to think that these nodules range over a far 

 more extensive area of the Central Pacific than had been supposed, and 

 that this peculiar manganese-nodule bottom characterizes a great portion of 

 the deep parts of the Central Pacific, where it cannot be affected by the 

 deposition of Globigerinaj, Pteropods, or telluric ooze, in the region charac- 

 terized also by red-clay deposits. For in the track of the great equatorial 

 currents there occur deposits of Globigerina ooze in over 2400 fathoms 

 for a distance of over 300 miles in latitude. 



We also found manganese nodules south of the Marquesas; at Station 31, 

 when in 2700 fathoms, we obtained perhaps the finest specimens of red clay 

 from any of our soundings. As we approached the western Paumotus, 

 upon the north side of the plateau from which they rise, Globigerina ooze 

 passed gradually to Pteropod ooze, then to fine and coarse coral-sand. In 

 the channel south of the Paumotus to Tahiti the coral sand passed to vol- 

 canic sand mixed with Globigerime in the deepest parts of the line, and 

 toward Tahiti passed to volcanic mud mixed with Globigerina?, next to fine 

 volcanic sand, and finally, at the last sounding, off Point Venus, to coarse 



volcanic sand. 



We made a few hauls of the trawl on our way, but owing to the great 

 distance we had to steam between San Francisco and the Marquesas 

 (3800 miles) we could not, of course, devote much time either to trawling 

 or to making tows at intermediate depths. Still, the liauls we made with 

 the trawl were most interesting, and confirmed what other deep-sea expe- 

 ditions have recognized : that at great depths, at considerable distances 

 from land and away from any great oceanic current, there is comparatively 

 little animal life to be found. Where manganese nodules were found m 

 abundance the hauls were specially poor, a few deep-sea llolothurians and 

 Ophiurans, and some small Actiniae which had attached themselves to the 



