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tides； winds； the coriolis force； and other effects alter water levels considerably from oneocean to another and within oceans as well。 the pacific is about a foot and a half higher alongits western edge—a consequence of the centrifugal force created by the earth’s spin。 just aswhen you pull on a tub of water the water tends to flow toward the other end； as if reluctant toe with you； so the eastward spin of earth piles water up against the ocean’s westernmargins。
considering the age…old importance of the seas to us； it is striking how long it took theworld to take a scientific interest in them。 until well into the nineteenth century most of whatwas known about the oceans was based on what washed ashore or came up in fishing nets；and nearly all that was written was based more on anecdote and supposition than on physicalevidence。 in the 1830s； the british naturalist edward forbes surveyed ocean beds throughoutthe atlantic and mediterranean and declared that there was no life at all in the seas below2；000 feet。 it seemed a reasonable assumption。 there was no light at that depth； so no plantlife； and the pressures of water at such depths were known to be extreme。 so it came assomething of a surprise when； in 1860； one of the first transatlantic telegraph cables washauled up for repairs from more than two miles down； and it was found to be thicklyencrusted with corals； clams； and other living detritus。
the first really organized investigation of the seas didn’t e until 1872； when a jointexpedition between the british museum； the royal society； and the british government setforth from portsmouth on a former warship called hms challenger。 for three and a halfyears they sailed the world； sampling waters； netting fish； and hauling a dredge throughsediments。 it was evidently dreary work。 out of a plement of 240 scientists and crew； onein four jumped ship and eight more died or went mad—“driven to distraction by the mind…numbing routine of years of dredging” in the words of the historian samantha weinberg。 butthey sailed across almost 70；000 nautical miles of sea； collected over 4；700 new species ofmarine organisms； gathered enough information to create a fifty…volume report （which tooknineteen years to put together）； and gave the world the name of a new scientific discipline：
oceanography。 they also discovered； by means of depth measurements； that there appeared tobe submerged mountains in the mid…atlantic； prompting some excited observers to speculatethat they had found the lost continent of atlantis。
because the institutional world mostly ignored the seas； it fell to devoted—and veryoccasional—amateurs to tell us what was down there。 modern deep…water exploration beginswith charles william beebe and otis barton in 1930。 although they were equal partners； themore colorful beebe has always received far more written attention。 born in 1877 into a well…to…do family in new york city； beebe studied zoology at columbia university； then took ajob as a birdkeeper at the new york zoological society。 tiring of that； he decided to adoptthe life of an adventurer and for the next quarter century traveled extensively through asiaand south america with a succession of attractive female assistants whose jobs wereinventively described as “historian and technicist” or “assistant in fish problems。” hesupported these endeavors with a succession of popular books with titles like edge of thejungle and jungle days； though he also produced some respectable books on wildlife andornithology。
in the mid…1920s； on a trip to the galápagos islands； he discovered “the delights ofdangling；” as he described deep…sea diving。 soon afterward he teamed up with barton； whocame from an even wealthier family； had also attended columbia； and also longed foradventure。 although beebe nearly always gets the credit； it was in fact barton who designedthe first bathysphere （from the greek word for “deep”） and funded the 12；000 cost of itsconstruction。 it was a tiny and necessarily robust chamber； made of cast iron 1。5 inches thickand with two small portholes containing quartz blocks three inches thick。 it held two men； butonly if they were prepared to bee extremely well acquainted。 even by the standards of theage； the technology was unsophisticated。 the sphere had no maneuverability—it simply hungon the end of a long cable—and only the most primitive breathing system： to neutralize theirown carbon dioxide they set out open cans of soda lime； and to absorb moisture they opened asmall tub of calcium chloride； over which they sometimes waved palm fronds to encouragechemical reactions。
but the nameless little bathysphere did the job it was intended to do。 on the first dive； injune 1930 in the bahamas； barton and beebe set a world record by descending to 600 feet。 by1934； they had pushed the record to 3；028 feet； where it would stay until after the war。 bartonwas confident the device was safe to a depth of 4；500 feet； though the strain on every bolt andrivet was audibly evident with each fathom they descended。 at any depth； it was brave andrisky work。 at 3；000 feet； their little porthole was subjected to nineteen tons of pressure persquare inch。 death at such a depth would have been instantaneous； as beebe never failed toobserve in his many books； articles； and radio broadcasts。 their main concern； however； wasthat the shipboard winch； straining to hold on to a metal ball and two tons of steel cable；would snap and send the two men plunging to the seafloor。 in such an event； nothing couldhave saved them。
the one thing their descents didn’t produce was a great deal of worthwhile science。
although they encountered many creatures that had not been seen before； the limits ofvisibility and the fact that neither of the intrepid aquanauts was a trained oceanographer meantthey often weren’t able to describe their findings in the kind of detail that real scientistscraved。 the sphere didn’t carry an external light； merely a 250…watt bulb they could hold upto the window； but the water below five hundred feet was practically impenetrable anyway；and they were peering into it through three inches of quartz； so anything they hoped to viewwould have to b