PRELIMINARY REPORT. 79 



Through the Paumotu Archipelago the soundings in less than 1400 

 fathoms are marked by the frequent occurrence of Pteropod ooze and of 

 Globigerinos, but by far the greater number of soundings show a bottom 

 made up of Globigerinte and of coral sand in proportion to the distance 

 from the atolls ; the coral sand being coarser nearer the shores, gradually 

 becoming finer as we proceed seaward, and at the same time containing a 

 larger percentage of Globigerince or of Pteropod shells. Compare the 

 records of the shallower stations in the northwestern Paumotus, such as 

 Stations 79, 89, 91, 96, 106, 107, 115 to 117, made up of comparatively 

 coarse coral-sand, with deeper stations like 82, 97, 104, 109, at which the 

 coral sand is finer, containing a larger percentage of Pteropods or Globi- 

 gerinas, and with the still deeper stations like numbers 77, 87, 93, 94, 

 102, 103, 110-114, where the Globigerinaj make up the greater part of 

 the deposit. 



A similar state of things is found to hold good with the deposits at the 

 stations occupied in the central Paumotus, as well as in the easternmost 

 islands of the Paumotus we visited. When the depths separating the 

 islands are greater, as at Station 146 (lat. 18° 56' S., long. 139° 05' W.) 

 and 152 and 154 to 157 (lat. 20° 46.5' S., long. 142° 51' W.), on the way 

 from Pinaki to Nukutipipi, we find again red clay in depths varying from 

 2284 to 2467 fathoms containing a greater or less percentage of Foramini- 

 fera. Similarly at Stations 166 and 167 (lat. 20° 02' S., long. 144° 28' W.), 

 in the deep water which separates Ann Anuraro from Hereheretue, in 2265 

 and 2524 fathoms, the bottom deposit is red clay with an admixture of 

 Foraminifera ; while at stations varying in depth from about 700 fathoms 

 to nearly 2000 fathoms the deposit is made up of coral sand, Pteropod ooze, 

 and Globigerino3 in different percentages, as in the deposits of the north- 

 western Paumotus. 



The deep soundings between Hereheretue and Tahiti at Stations 172 

 and 173 (lat. 18° 55' S., long. 146° 32' W.) were made up of red clay 

 and Globigerinte ; and on approaching Tahiti the coral sand which charac- 

 terized the vicinity of the atolls in the Paumotus is replaced in the Society 

 Islands by volcanic mud and volcanic sand and a small percentage of 

 Globifferina^. 



