The observation was published in more subdued working 

 in a report by Piccard and Dietz""^" which stated that, "with 

 the lights extinguished in deep water, a small point of 

 bioluminescence was seen every few seconds, ' At this 

 time, a situation comparable to "burning water" was also 

 seen at the surface. 



Attempts to identify the emitting sources have been 

 made, niuminating the area with the external lights has 

 revealed either no discernible source or only heavy con- 

 centrations of suspended matter. The majority of light 

 sources are presumed to be protozoans that are too small 

 for the human eye to resolve. 



The only color of bioluminescence observed during the 

 descents of the TRIESTE has been greenish- white, although 

 other luminescent colors are known to be present in marine 

 organisms. 



Most descents with the bathyscaph have been to the sea 

 floor. It is of interest to note that although benthic mem- 

 bers of the several phyla are known to possess biolumines- 

 cent species, no benthic bioluminescence has been observed. 

 These benthic forms include sea pens, nemertean worms, 

 chaetopteran worms, and coelenterates. 



Water Clarity 



One of the intriguing phenomena revealed during bathy- 

 scaph dives has been the prevalence of marine "snow. " 

 Particles in the water are easily detected if exposed in a 

 beam of light. As the scatterers are made apparent by 

 such a source, a Tyndall effect can be created. 



Bathyscaph observers have only a qualitative index of 

 the amount of material present in this "snow, " The identity 

 of these suspended materials is still poorly understood. 

 However, they are believed to be largely inanimate. They 

 are distributed throughout even the largest known water 

 column in the ocean. 



During a bathyscaph traverse of a water column or a 

 lowering of photometric device, suspended materials have 

 been found to vary in quantity. Analysis by Jerlov^ ^ of data 

 from several deep oceanic locations indicates that there is 

 definite particle stratification that suggests a means of 

 identifying water mass movement. His determination of 



41 



