226
-
'Il—IE SEAS
the"rayS of light from the sun were“ cut off immediately
_
and completely by the surface water, no plants could
survive there and it is likely"that our oceans would not
coutain that wealth of animal life in which they all abound;
=
The amount of light to be found at any depth in the sea
the altitude and strength of the sun, on the
_
Weather conditions, and upon the amount of sand and
sedim‘entpresent in the water, thatis to say its turbidity.
Much light'is reected
the sea surface especially if.
.
_.
waves, because the light rays glan‘ce off the sloping
Sides of the Waves.
-It is often almost impossible to look
towards the setting sun over the Sea because of the dazzling
path of reected light, and we must realize that this light
;is,not being reected only along the path between us and
'
“the Sun,—' but all over the sea surface, because from whatever
—
?
place we…look towards- —the sun we shall always nd this ‘päth‘of-light.’ ‘The lower the sun is in the heavens the more
_
its rays are reected: Thus we seethat it is se1d—0m— that
all the light ‘tr0m the sun penetrates the actual sea surface ;
such a thing only” happens‘ when the sun is vertically overhead and
Sea itself is as Calm as glass.
But the rays ,
of light that 'd0 pass through the surface cannot penetrate
right to the bottom in very deep water.
Out in the
00eans the darkness ‘onthe sea‘ oor thousands of fathoms
'
'
behe‘ath the surface is absolute.
This is because the“light
itself =is absorbed by the water.
But all the different
.
colours ofwhich white light is“ compoSed are not absorbed
1
to anzequal extent.
red rays for instance“ are ab'sorbed
‘
ver—v qui0kly’indeed. It=is a matter 0fseveral tathoms
“only befoi‘eall the red light has gone. S‘It is the blue and
“violet light that penetrates farthest and.in clear ocean Waters
William Beebe has noticed,xon 0neof his .bathyspherc3 dives,“ '
_
that every trace of visible light had vaniShed at 2,000 feet.
'
Some years ago experiments madein the Sargasso Sea showed
_
-
'Il—IE SEAS
the"rayS of light from the sun were“ cut off immediately
_
and completely by the surface water, no plants could
survive there and it is likely"that our oceans would not
coutain that wealth of animal life in which they all abound;
=
The amount of light to be found at any depth in the sea
the altitude and strength of the sun, on the
_
Weather conditions, and upon the amount of sand and
sedim‘entpresent in the water, thatis to say its turbidity.
Much light'is reected
the sea surface especially if.
.
_.
waves, because the light rays glan‘ce off the sloping
Sides of the Waves.
-It is often almost impossible to look
towards the setting sun over the Sea because of the dazzling
path of reected light, and we must realize that this light
;is,not being reected only along the path between us and
'
“the Sun,—' but all over the sea surface, because from whatever
—
?
place we…look towards- —the sun we shall always nd this ‘päth‘of-light.’ ‘The lower the sun is in the heavens the more
_
its rays are reected: Thus we seethat it is se1d—0m— that
all the light ‘tr0m the sun penetrates the actual sea surface ;
such a thing only” happens‘ when the sun is vertically overhead and
Sea itself is as Calm as glass.
But the rays ,
of light that 'd0 pass through the surface cannot penetrate
right to the bottom in very deep water.
Out in the
00eans the darkness ‘onthe sea‘ oor thousands of fathoms
'
'
behe‘ath the surface is absolute.
This is because the“light
itself =is absorbed by the water.
But all the different
.
colours ofwhich white light is“ compoSed are not absorbed
1
to anzequal extent.
red rays for instance“ are ab'sorbed
‘
ver—v qui0kly’indeed. It=is a matter 0fseveral tathoms
“only befoi‘eall the red light has gone. S‘It is the blue and
“violet light that penetrates farthest and.in clear ocean Waters
William Beebe has noticed,xon 0neof his .bathyspherc3 dives,“ '
_
that every trace of visible light had vaniShed at 2,000 feet.
'
Some years ago experiments madein the Sargasso Sea showed
_