Navy Research Program Probes Depths
Of Ocean To Two Miles In Bathyscaphe
Probing down to nearly two miles beneath
the surface of the Mediterranean, Navy scientists completed a series of 26
dives in the Piccard bathyscaphe, the Trieste, off the coast of
Naples between June 21 and October 25 in a research program sponsored by
the Office of Naval Research, the Navy has announced.
The bathyscaphe, the creation of Professor
Auguste Piccard, is the underwater equivalent of a lighter-than-air craft
such as a blimp, operating in reverse. It consists of a 50-foot hull, 12
feet in diameter, filled with gasoline to make it buoyant, since gasoline
is lighter than water. Beneath this hull is a suspended a sphere, 6.5 feet
in diameter, constructed of forged "fatigueless" steel. This
sphere, which easily holds two men and scientific equipment, is capable of
withstanding ocean depths of more than three miles, which is about 20
times as deep as a conventional submarine. This permits the craft to
explore about 99 percent of sea floors in the oceans of the world.
The hull above the sphere is built to
withstand the buffeting of surface waves and towing but is not designed
nor required to resist deep sea pressures because of the unique method of
operation. The craft descends by letting sea water into air chambers in
the hull. Entering through holes in the bottom, the sea water, which does
not mix with and is heavier than the gasoline, maintains an even pressure
between the hull and the outside sea. The normal rate of descent is about
three knots. Ascent is made by jettisoning iron shot used as ballast.
Additional control of the buoyancy is achieved by valving off small
portions of gasoline.
The cabin has two portholes with windows
made of six-inch thick plexi-glass. Three mercury vapor lamps attached to
the sphere are used to light up the ocean depths. Some horizontal
maneuverability of the bathyscaphe is provided by two battery-powered
reversible propellers mounted on the hull. The Trieste is the
second bathyscaphe designed and built by Professor Piccard. The first one,
known as the FNRS3, is owned and operated by the French Navy. The name
bathyscaphe is combined of two Greek words, "bathy" and "scaphe,"
meaning "deep boat."
The Office of Naval Research engaged the Trieste
for a broad research program, involving acoustical and biological
investigations of ocean depths. The long-range objectives of this program
are to explore the ocean environment at great depths and to evaluate the
potentialities of the bathyscaphe both as a research tool and as a naval
craft, such as a submarine rescue vessel or a deep diving submarine.
In this particular series of dives the
emphasis was on the study of the field of sound in the ocean growing out
of the Navy’s great interest in underwater acoustics in submarine
warfare. Investigations of the biology, geology, and physics of the ocean
depths also were conducted in an attempt to identify sources of ocean
sounds and to determine the sound transmission qualities of the ocean and
the bottom.
One puzzling discovery was that at
mid-depths the noise level differed significantly from that at higher and
lower depths. It also appeared that this anomalous noise came from a
horizontal rather than a vertical direction. In addition to acoustical
measurements, there were many observations made of life in the mid-depths
and on the bottom. An abundance of life was noted at all depths, including
such strange species as fish whose bodies appeared to be covered with
white down. The bottom often showed indications of burrowing animals.
There were numerous holes in the ocean floor, most of them about
one-quarter inch in diameter.
Piloting the Trieste throughout
the program of dives was M. Jacques Piccard, son of Professor Piccard.
Making the descents with him at various times were A.E. Maxwell and Dr.
Robert Dietz of the Office of Naval Research; Russel Lewis of the Navy
Underwater Sound Laboratory, New London, Connecticut; Dr. Andreas
Rechnitzer of the Navy Electronics Laboratory, San Diego, California; and
Morton Lomask and Robert Frassetto of the Hudson Laboratories of Columbia
University. Four foreign scientists invited to participate in the program
also made some dives. |