II f^^SHS inl ».* VOLUME VI, NO. 1. 1958 EDITOR: JAN HAHN Published quarterly and distributed to the Associates of the Woods Hole Oceano- graphic Institution and others interested in Oceanography Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution WOODS HOLE, MASSACHUSETTS HENRY B. BIGELOW Chairman of the Board of Trustees RAYMOND STEVENS President of the Corporation PAUL M. FYE Director COLUMBUS O'D. ISELIN H. B. Bigt/oiv Oceanographer BOSTWICK H. KETCHUM Senior Oceanographer HE "shape" on the front cover is the all-sky camera mounted on the bridge deck of the R.V. Crawford. Used to photograph the clouds a time-lapse motion picture camera is contained in the case seen in the middle of the mirror with its tripod. The photographer who took the picture is shown as well as the Institution buildings behind him, the clouds in the sky and the ship's mast. Mounted around the mirror are: a compass, a barometer, a date and time clock, wet and dry bulb thermometers and a unit to turn the camera off at sunset and on at daylight. All instruments are photographed once every minute when a cloud picture is obtained. At the end of a cruise one may thus obtain a daily record of weather conditions on only a few hundred feet of film. The camera was set up near Nobska Light at Woods Hole and the photograph was made directly from above as in its normal operation, when taking the photograph on this page. Mr. Jan Hahn, the editor, recently joined the "Atlantis" in Alexandria, Egypt, for work in the Medi- terranean Sea. The copy for several feature articles had already been sent to press before he left. Only essential minor revisions and proof corrections have been made in his absence. Certain items under the "Features" have been collected since Mr. Hahn's departure. This issue devoted to photography at Woods Hole, with emphasis on its underwater aspects, contains a collection of unique photographs. Many have already appeared in the scientific literature, in popular periodicals, encyclopedia, textbooks, etc. Others have never been published before. Claude Ronne The Camera as a Tool The easiest way to study the ocean is from the air. 1 F some photographer were to awaken from a sylvan sleep of twenty years how difficult and yet how exciting he would find his professional readjustment. For unlike poor Rip Van Winkle, whose world had really changed but little during his absence, our modern counterpart would be hard pressed to understand the revolution that had taken place among his colleagues. No long established science has extended itself more rapidly through all the other sciences, nor has any science changed its own methods so drastically in so short a time. Better cameras, better lenses, films of higher speed or greater accuracy and truer color have all been intro- duced within the last few years and are enabling the eyes of the researcher to see further and more clearly. Techniques un- known twenty years ago are routine processes today, quietly fulfilling a need of which the layman is wholly unaware. Here at this Institution also, changes have taken place. When the original structure was built in 1932 no space was allotted to a photo studio. But in 1951 when the Laboratory of Ocean- ography was designed, a large area was set aside for this purpose, and three additional small darkrooms were distrib- uted through the building to ease the anticipated load of the photographic department. All of these facilities are in constant use today. Helpful as the new photo- techniques have proven them- selves to be, it must never be forgotten that in scientific work the photograph or any photo- graphic method or instrument employed by the researcher is never an end in itself. Unlike the portraitist whose work is finished when his client is sat- isfied, the major work of the scientist begins when the data which the camera may have helped him to obtain are placed in his hands. Nor can the in- struments used or devised by the scientist be haphazard af- fairs. Each must be designed and built to the best of human ability to function in such fash- ion as to gather the information most pertinent to the questions that the investigator is asking. But still the real discoveries lie ahead in the mind and vision of the skilled observer. Without him science would perish. There- fore the interest in what any instrument has helped to achieve should never be directed toward the instrument itself. The only valid question is: Have we learned anything by the use of these new techniques about the nature of the physical world around us? Wave studies Oceanography, like life itself may have started with the oceans, but as with life it could not remain there. It must con- cern itself with ocean, air and shore if it would gain some in- sight into the interaction of all these elements which in their combined aspects constitute the world as we know it. It is such a diversified science that it is difficult to say what an ocean- ographer is. He may be a biol- ogist, chemist, geologist, math- ematician or meteorologist. But regardless of what his pro- fessional training may have been, once he associates it with oceanography much of his effort will be directed toward the problems and mysteries of the sea. Millennia ago a thoughtful king mused on the fact that there were many things that he could not understand. One of these was the way of a ship in the sea. And the same problem perplexes the oceanographer today. Yet how shall we understand the way of a ship until we under- stand the way of the sea itself? One photographic attempt to capture the elusive waves of the ocean and to measure their heights, their force and their direction, or in more technical language their "energy spec- trum", was made by a group of scientists at Woods Hole. Utilizing methods employed by photogrammetrists in aerial map-making, stereographic pho- tographs were taken of the sea surface during an offshore storm. The problems were more complex than those presented by similar surveys over land. As the ocean is never at rest for a moment it was necessary to use two aircraft flying in tandem at an altitude of 3000 ft. and to maintain a base line of 2000 ft. between them. The camera in each had to be trig- gered by a radio link to assure that the exposure would be made at the same instant. Another problem in making a map of the sea-surface is the impossibility of sending out ground crews in advance to establish bench-marks of known height and distance for use in •2000 FT 3000 FT This is how stereoscopic wave photographs were obtained by a tandem of planes. The Atlantis is shown towing a target at a known distance astern the ship. ground control. And so for the first time in her long and useful career our research vessel "Atlantis" was deliberately sent out into a storm and told to stand by in the selected area until the aircraft could pass overhead and make the neces- sary photographs, using her length together with that of a target she towed behind her at a known distance, as an impro- vised system of ground control. Though the difficulties in- volved were many and though the program called for a con- certed collaboration between the Institution and the U. S. Navy Hydrographic Office, none of the participants felt that his time and efforts had been wasted. The result was some- thing that had never been achieved before: a map of a specific system of waves whose parameters were known and whose contours were forever frozen in time. Cloud studies In its response to the warming action of the sun, the sea is the energy source which feeds and maintains our atmosphere. The Trade Winds pass over it and gather from it the water-vapor and the salt nuclei, which con- densed into clouds may be car- ried for hundreds of miles in- land and raised to tropospheric heights before precipitation oc- curs. Then this prodigal son of Typical cumulus clouds in the Trade Wind area during good weather. an oceanic father begins its long river journey home. Occasionally this never end- ing cycle of ocean-air interaction breaks through the barriers that normally restrain its violence. It is then that the hurricane is born which will not die until its frenzy is spent in an assault upon the coastal plains. Here, cut off from its source of energy, the ocean, its strength is finally dissipated by every tree that it uproots and by every mountain that it cannot make low. The recent frequency and destruc- tiveness of our East Coast hur- ricanes have led to a much greater interest among scientists as to their cause and develop- ment. But long before the large- scale efforts which are being made today the meteorologists at Woods Hole were studying the formation of cumulus clouds in the Caribbean area which is one of the breeding grounds for these storms. As a result of these early efforts many new and radical theories are being advanced which are causing the older ideas and concepts to be modified. These investigations raise a fascinating question. Why does one of many tropical disturb- ances grow into a full-fledged Betsy or Carol while multitud- The small cumulus clouds suddenly may grow into huge cauldrons in tropical disturbances. How these clouds "run away" is a secret avidly sought by the meteorolo- gists. inous others which seem to have the necessary ingredients merely die away unnoticed and un- named? The hurricane burns an enormous amount of energy in its short but evil lifetime. The violence of man-made explo- sions, including those atomic, pale into insignificance when compared with the striking force of any one of these atmos- pheric scourges. The source of this energy is derived from the "latent" heat of the water vapor stored in the hurricane clouds and which is released as "real" heat when this water vapor is converted into liquid water drops by condensation. What causes these harmless trade cumuli to grow into Titans whose icy anvils can rise to 40,000 ft. and whose precipitated water content can flood a dozen rivers? What combination of atmos- pheric forces permits this run- away growth of cloud? If we could answer this question we would have come a long way toward an understanding of these storms. So at the present time much work is being done by the meteorologists at Woods Hole on this problem. The investigations are being directed primarily toward mak- ing quantitative measurements of cumulus cloud formations in- cluding their growth and organ- ization, and among the many specialized instruments designed for this purpose, cameras are extensively employed. Nor is this surprising. The ephemeral nature of the clouds themselves demands the use of photographs to preserve them from oblivion. During the past summer an ex- tensive cloud-photography pro- gram was carried out by the In- stitution on flights across the Pacific Ocean. With the generous cooperation of the U. S. Air Force MATS, cine cameras were set up on cargo planes flying from San Francisco to Manila. These cameras were regulated to expose one frame per second and were kept running without interruption for each, of the .suc- cessive legs of the flight — often 8-10 hours. Analysis of these films has just begun and cloud maps of the flight areas are be- ing compiled. From the pictures it is possible to compute the height and size of individual cumulus towers, and to gain some insight into their fre- quency and distribution under both normal and disturbed conditions. Perhaps our group of meteor- ologists at Woods Hole takes more than an academic interest in the hurricane. No one who has known the savage danger of these storms would ask him why. Twice in the short history of this Institution our Claude Ronne is Research As- sociate in Photography. He has been with the Institution since 1944 and has logged over 250,000 air miles. buildings have been flooded and our ships and property severely damaged. Indeed anyone who lives along our eastern shores knows how close to tragedy he stands; between him and de- struction there is only one thin, line of defense - - the shore line - and he has seen this crumble beneath the impact of these winds - - these waves. Beach studies From the dark forests of Maine to the bright Florida Keys, the long and sinuous coast line of the Atlantic seaboard stretches from sub-arctic cold to semi-tropical heat. Against this barrier the ocean beats with ceaseless and destructive energy. The hurricanes already discussed batter the shores and in a single night of violence erode into oblivion the high dunes and the low savannahs. A long-deserted cottage at Nauset Inlet in Mas- sachusetts topples into the sea and the once proud summer homes along a Virginia beach are abandoned. We know that these things are happening all the time, but can we find out how they hap- pen? How much does the coast line change over the years and what part of this natural earth- work is most vulnerable to the next attack of wave and wind and weather? Seeking to gather some in- formation on this question so vital to any coastal state, the ge- ologists at Woods Hole have already made three flights at approximately yearly intervals from Block Island to Browns- The changing face of our beaches is clearly seen in these two photographs of Nauset Beach on Cape Cod. The left photograph was made in February 1956, the right one in November 1957. ville, Texas. Equipped with miles of coast line within a few motion-picture cameras taking days time. So rapidly are these 120 pictures a minute, the entire photographic flights completed shore line between these two that no serious changes occur points has been photographed. alonS the beaches while they are being made. Thus it is possible The cine-film thus obtained, to view the entire Eastern sea when projected at a normal rate, board as a whole in what is simulates what an observer virtually a given instant of time, would see were he travelling in wuh each successive flight the a jet aircraft at 800 miles per yalue of the previous ones in_ hour. Despite the accelerated creases If this work can be con. speed each frame is clear enough tinued for a number of years to be studied as a single photo- it should be possible to make graph when the projector is comparisons between earlier and stopped, or if more detailed later photographs. In this way measurements are desired, black perhaps some knowledge can be and white photographs can be gained into the general changes made from the original 16mm that are likely to take Place T^ along our beaches and some Kodachromes. quantitative predictions made. There is no question here of Here then, are three ways in attempting to duplicate the mag- wMch photography ls being nificent work done by the Coast uged ag & bagic research tool and Geodetic Survey. The prob- Others could have been men. lems are quite different. With tioned, but these were chosen extreme precision the Geodetic because of the inseparable in- Survey plots the small but sig- teraction among them and be- nificant changes that are occur- cause there are no more funda- ing in harbors and beaches so mental elements than earth and that ships may come and go in air and ocean, safety. The exactitude of their All scientific inquiry is fraught work limits the area that they with disappointment and dis- can survey at any one time. It couragement. But it is in the may be weeks or even months nature of man to seek, and before the data they obtain can though his discoveries may be be compiled and finally pub- small and long delayed he knows i. , j of no reward more kingly. He has learned to be patient and The problem for our geolo- not to ask for the impossible, gists is to make a quick photo- The journey of a thousand miles graphic sketch of nearly 2400 is taken one step at a time. 8 30,000 Photos a Second Two Miles Down V ISUAL records of fleeting oc- currences become possible with the development of extremely high-speed motion picture cam- eras. It is amusing to realize that the higher the speed of the camera the more "slow motion" results on a projecting screen when the film is run at regular speed. Ordinary "slow motion" results from taking an action at, say, 64 frames per second and projecting the film at regular silent speed of 16 frames per second. During World War II we had a problem to study the action of underwater explosions. Some tests had been made in tanks but this necessitated extremely small explosive charges — about one gram — and at any rate were not in the natural environment. Dr. Fye in a thoughtful mood surveys a camera rig when — as so often in science — "things went wrong." The intricate lighting system for the photography of underwater explosives. At Woods Hole we developed high-speed underwater motion cameras for the photography of explosive charges — ranging in size from one ounce to 300 pounds — in the ocean at var- ious depths from the surface down to two miles. An underwater explosion re- sults in a rapidly expanding shock wave followed by a suc- cession of pressure pulses caused by the expansion and collapse of gas bubbles formed by the hot gases released by the explosion. To photograph the extremely fast action of such gas bubbles was not an easy matter. We had to have appropriate cameras con- tained in water - and explosion- resistant cases, adequate light sources and a system to syn- chronize the lights and the cam- era with the detonation. Also, for study of the data, it was necessary to have precise speed control of the camera or timing marks on the film, and a strong rig had to be made to mount and maintain the position of explosives, lights and cameras. I *' One-pound charge, 6000-foot depth, before firing. One-pound charge, 6000-foot depth. Bubble Maximum. Finally, we needed sufficiently clear water as, in some cases, it was necessary to have the ex- plosion 40 to 80 feet away from the camera. Cameras used in the work in- cluded the Eastman Hi-Speed, the 35 mm Fastrax and a ro- tating mirror frame camera designed jointly by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the Naval Ordnance Lab- oratory. The latter was con- tained in a 22-inch diameter spherical case and had a 1*4- inch thick wall, in front of the camera lens was a 1-inch win- dow covering a !V4-inch hole. The speed ranges of these cameras were from 2,000 to 30,000 frames per second (com- pare this to 16 frames per sec- ond for "silent" and 24 frames per second for sound motion pictures. The light sources most commonly used were focal plane flashbulbs having a duration of 70 milli-seconds, sometimes fired in series, while miniature bulbs were used in the deep work. A The heavy camera rig could be handled easily by the Atlantis. 10 or-- • lo Detonation 1 Maximum Diameter Cylindrical Charge, 12,000-foot Depth Minimum water-tight case with a lucite window protected the bulbs from the explosion. The Eastman and Fastrax cameras which were used in shallow operations down to 1,000 feet were operated by electric cables from the ship. This sys- tem was impossible at depths of one or two miles. For such depths, the equipment was en- tirely self-operated, miniature wet cells supplying the power for the camera. Since the camera had to be started just before the firing of the explosive in order to be at steady running speed, a system was devised to start and stop the camera motor, op- erate the shutter, fire the one- pound explosive charge, fire 20 or 40 number 6 focal plane flash- bulbs. These events had to be synchronized with a precision of x/4th millisecond and were started by the closing of a switch actuated by hydrostatic pressure when the camera rig had reached its predetermined depth. The ATLANTIS was one of the few ships that could have handled the heavy awkward steel frames necessary for this type of work. Dr. Fye, the new Director of the Institution was in charge of the high-speed photography de- scribed in this article. Explosion of one-pound charge at 6000 feet. ^« F" k? r r ^ ••— ^ • \ • J ^ m * LJL 'J 11 Electron Micrographs of Diatoms 12 Joyce C. Lewin and Delbert E. Philpott Electron Micrographs of Diatoms DIATOMS Diatoms have lacy cases Of material siliceous — Perforated lids and bases, Made to fit like Petri dishes. Nursed in Nature's hydroponic, They're prolific and nutritious, Making bouillabaisse planktonic For the sustenance of fishes. Ralph A. Lewin. Jan. 1958 D IATOMS are single-celled plants which inhabit soil, rivers, lakes, and seas. They are the basic food in the ocean since they form the major part of plant life in the sea. Approxi- mately 5,000 species of diatoms are known, their classification being based on the fine structure of their silica walls. The light microscope, with an oil im- mersion lens, provides magnifi- cations up to 1,000 x, which are adequate for discerning details of the larger diatom species. However, many of the smaller species, ranging in size down to about 3 microns, have never been adequately described, since it has been impossible in the past for taxonomists to determ- ine their specific morphological details under the light micro- scope. With the electron microscope, direct magnifications of as much as 200,000 x can now be obtained, although 3,000 x is usually ad- equate for revealing the struc- tural details of diatom walls. The electron microscope is therefore being used more and more as an aid in the description and identification of small spe- cies. Among the diatoms present in the culture collection at the Oceanographic Institution we have many littoral species with- in the 5-30 micron range. Elec- tron micrographs of these have been prepared as an aid to their identification. Dr. Joyce C. Lewin is a Research As- sociate in Marine Biology at the Institu- tion and Mr. Philpott is in charge of the Electron Microscope at the Marine Biological Laboratory. 13 George L. Clarke The Luminescence Camera "Let There be Light" J. HE construction of a bathy- photometer containing a photo- multiplier tube and capable of measuring illumination as low as 10-7 microwatts/cm2 (or about 10-12 of sunlight) has made pos- sible a great extension of our measurements of light in the sea. The penetration of daylight has been measured to depths as great as 600 meters in clear water during the middle of the day, and light from the night sky has been traced to several hundred meters beneath the surface. In the course of these meas- urements it was discovered that the bathyphotometer was suf- ficiently sensitive to respond strongly to the flashes of lum- inescent animals at all levels investigated during the night and at depths greater than about 400 meters during the day. Con- tinuous records of the lumines- cent flashing of animals have now been made from the surface Lowering: luminescence camera over the side. to depths as great as 3750 meters, or about 2J/3 miles. The intens- ity, frequency, and duration of the flashes were found to vary profoundly at different levels in the sea. Since a large variety of marine animals is known to produce luminescence, we wished to ascertain which types of ani- mals were responsible for the kind of flashing observed at each depth. For this purpose a plan was laid in collaboration with Dr. Harold E. Edgerton of the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology to construct a device which would cause the flashing animal to take its own picture. The resulting "luminescence camera", designed and built by Dr. Edgerton and Mr. Lloyd 14 Breslau, consists of two water- tight tubes mounted at right angles to each other. One of these contains a photomultiplier tube inside and an electronic flash bulb outside. The other contains a camera provided with 35 mm "plus X" film and oper- ating mechanism. The film is automatically advanced one frame after each picture is taken. The field of view of the photomultiplier tube is limited by the sides of its window to a cone, and the base of the cone is limited by a baffle plate. The camera is focused on this cone of water from within which the photomultiplier tube can re- ceive light. When a fish or an invertebrate swims or is carried into this sensitive region of the device, light emitted by the animal is picked up by the Dr. George L. Clarke, Marine biologist on our staff since 1931 is Associate Professor of Zoology at Harvard. He took part in the maiden cruise of the ATLANTIS. photomultipliertube which then sets off an electronic flash. The extremely brilliant and rapid electronic flash illuminates the water in the field of view of the camera and causes a sharp image of the luminescent animal to be recorded on the film. Pictures taken by the camera device showed that many of the lumi- nescent flashes are produced by extremely small animals. An animal that took its own picture was a siphonophore curled in form of a spiral about 5 centi- meters in diameter. A luminescent jelly fish (siphonophore) about 5 cm in diameter took its own picture by swim- ming through the field of view of a new under- water camera. When a luminescent animal swims or drifts through the field of view of the cam- era its emitted light is picked up by a photo- multiplier tube which sets off an electronic flash and exposes the film. J. A. Posgay Photography of the Sea Floor Wide angle studies of sea scallops may bring us more. L HE underwater camera has been used for studying the dis- tribution and density of those animals which live on the sea bottom along the continental shelf. This community, in addi- tion to being so interesting and important in the biological econ- omy of the sea, has some members which are of direct commercial importance. The outstanding example is the sea scallop. Some twenty million pounds of sea scallop meats, worth about ten million dollars, were landed in 1957. The traditional equipment for studying these animals has been the towed dredge and the grab sampler in a large variety of types and modifications. None of them are satisfactory. The dredge can be used only for the roughest of quantitative esti- mates while the grab gives reasonably valid quantitative data but each sample is small Wide-angle underwater camera being put over the side. The lower case holds the batteries, the center case the light, and the upper case, the camera. The pressure cases will withstand 1000 fathoms of pressure. and each lowering takes up a large amount of expensive ship time. The costs of adequately surveying an area such as Georges Bank off the New Eng- land coast with a grab would be prohibitive. The proper type of underwater camera, while it has some drawbacks, enables reasonably rapid, definitely quantitative, extensive surveys to be made. A good set of under- water photographs is the next best thing to direct observation. The first practical underwater cameras were designed and built at the Woods Hole Oceano- graphic Institution about 1940 by Dr. Maurice Ewing and his group. Since then, many people 16 Georges Bank. 41 c 37' N, 66° 20' W. 48 fathoms. Fine, rippled sand with some broken shell. One badly eroded black quahog valve. Taken one minute later about 100 feet from the previous pic- ture, same depth. Coarse, gravel- ly bottom full of broken shell. Four small sea scallops. Taken one minute later than previous picture. Same depth, same bottom. One large sea anemone, seven sea scallops ranging in size from about two inches to about six inches in diameter. This the most dense aggregation of sea scallops ever photographed. Most of the pic- tures taken on the ground show no scallops, more than one is unusual, seven is almost incred- ible. have refined and modified the original design to suit their in- dividual purposes and notions. The camera shown in the illus- tration is an improved version of a prototype designed and built at the Woods Hole Oceano- graphic Institution in 1955. It has several features which make it particularly suitable for in- vestigating the animals of the sea floor. The heart of every camera is its lens. An ordinary commercial camera lens enclosed in a water- tight case and looking out through a plate glass window has acceptable resolution over an angle of view of only twenty degrees. In order to photograph an appreciable area sharply, it is necessary to back the camera off a considerable distance. How- ever, the water close to the continental shelf is frequently turbid, therefore, one cannot back the camera off too far, or it will not see the bottom. This camera, therefore, was built around an objective designed by Dr. E. M. Thorndike of the La- mont Geological Laboratory to operate in water at a seventy- five degree angle" of view. At a height of only five feet above the bottom this camera can pho- tograph over forty square feet. This makes it about eight times more efficient in this respect than the pioneer models. Several other elements of the camera's design add to its utility. The exposure is made when a weight dangling below the cam- era touches the bottom. This allows the operator to control the location of each picture and insures that each is in exact focus. A large film magazine, automatic film transport, and Mr. Posgay started his under- water studies at the Institution. He now is on the staff of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Woods Hole. recharging capacitor -discharge flash lighting permit one hun- dred pictures to be taken at one minute intervals without bring- ing the camera to the surface. The vertical axis of view and the central position of the light close to the bottom in a suitable reflector gives a fairly even degree of cross-lighting and al- lows for routine processing of prints. Self-contained battery power and a compact package with all delicate parts enclosed inside a very sturdy frame makes it reasonably simple and safe to use at sea. The camera is presently being used to survey the sea scallop beds of Georges Bank. A buoy is set out, the camera is put over the side and the ship is allowed to drift. Pictures are taken at one minute intervals until the ship has drifted for a mile. The camera is taken in and the dredge set and towed back to the buoy. The camera is put over again and, since the tidal currents rotate in direction, the ship drifts off in a slightly dif- ferent direction. While the next transect is being made, the an- imals caught by the dredge are being identified, counted, and measured. During a period of twelve hours we may obtain some 500 pictures taken along eight or ten transects radiating from the reference buoy like the spokes of a wheel. An occasional 18 grab sample is usually taken to catch burrowing fauna. The buoy is then picked up and reset in a different location. Back ashore, the films are de- veloped and printed. To simp- lify this step, we are considering having the negatives contact printed on film strips which could then be projected. Each picture is examined for the kinds, numbers and sizes of animals visible. When these data are compared with the dredge hauls, it gives some idea of the efficiency of the dredge. The type of bottom, which among other things gives indirect evi- dence of the magnitude of the bottom current, is noted. Sur- veys repeated at the same loca- tion some time later give data from which estimates of recruit- ment and mortality rates can be made. Gifts and Grants Several grants were received from the National Science Foundation: $26,700 for support of research entitled "Productivity of the Benthos of Coastal Waters" under the direction of Dr. Gordon A. Riley; $17,900 for support of research entitled "Energy Requirements of Marine Bottom Communities" under the direction of Dr. John W. Kanwisher; $16,250 for support of research entitled "Radiochemistry Analysis of Sea Water under the direction of Dr. Vaughan T. Bowen; $29,450 for support of "Operational Costs and Related Expenses in the International Geophysical Year Deep Current Oceanography Program in the Atlantic" under the direction of Dr. C. O'D. Iselin; $4,000 for support of "Operational Costs of the International Geophysical Year Oceanography Pro- gram in the Arctic" under the direction of Mr. William G. Metcalf; $12,500 for support of research entitled "Pendulum Gravity Sur- veys in Australia and New Zealand in the International Geophysi- cal Year Gravity Program" under the direction of Dr. George P. Woollard. Associates' News Our new Director, Dr. Paul M. Fye, was introduced to the Associates in the Boston area at a reception at the Algonquin Club on February 5, 1958. The Associates in the New York area had an opportunity to meet Dr. Fye on May 21, 1958, at the Associates dinner at the American Museum of Natural History. New Industrial Associate Jersey Production Research Company New Life Member Mrs. George F. Jewett, Spokane, Washington Gifts and Grants The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Inc. contributed $5,000 toward the support of the research program of the Institution. A most appreciated gift was a portable electric piano for the R.V. "Atlantis". The piano was donated by Associate Mr. Josiah K. Lilly III and is an important morale factor during the present long IGY cruise to the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Contributions were also received from the Atlantic Tuna Club and from the Lou and Gene Marron Foundation. 19 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON OCEANOGRAPHY 2101 CONSTITUTION AVENUE, WASHINGTON 25, D. C. April 7, 1958 Letter to Oceanographers The National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council has recently formed a Committee on Oceanography whose primary purpose is to promote the future development of oceanography in the United States. The Committee is sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, the Atomic Energy Commission and the Fish & Wildlife Service. Harrison Brown, of the California Institute of Technology, is Chairman, and the members are: Maurice Ewing, Lament Geological Observatory; Columbus Iselin, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Fritz Koczy, Marine Laboratory, University of Miami; Sumner Pike, former Commissioner of the Atomic Energy Commission; Colin Pittendrigh, Princeton University; Roger Revelle, Scripps Institution of Ocean- ography; Gordon Riley, Bingham Oceanographic Laboratory, Yale University; Milner Schaefer, Inter- American Tropical Tuna Commission; • and Athelstan Spilhaus, Minnesota Institute of Technology. The Committee held its first meeting on November 23, 1957, in New York City and subsequent meetings have been held in Washington, D.C., La Jolla, and Miami. In general meetings will be held at institutions which have interests in the marine sciences. Six panels have been formed to examine particular areas: 1 ) Panel on New Research Ships, Columbus Iselin, Chairman; 2) Panel on New Devices for Exploring the Ocean, Allyn Vine, Chairman; 3) Panel on Radioactive Waste Disposal at Sea, Roger Revelle, Chairman; 4> Panel on International Cooperation in the Marine Sciences, Athelstan Spilhaus, Chairman; 5) Panel on Ocean Resources, Robert Snider, Chairman; 6) Panel on Basic Research in the Marine Sciences, Alfred Redfield, Chairman. The Committee is attempting, with the assistance of the panels, to: 1) formulate recommendations concerning our long-range national policy with respect to ocean- ography, 2) to assist in all possible ways in increasing both the quantity and quality of basic research in the marine sciences and 3) to advise specific government agencies concerning those problems which involve the marine sciences. It is attempting to produce a preliminary report sometime during the summer. The Committee welcomes your comments and critical examination of its activ- ities. Please feel free to write directly to me, to the Chairman, to any of the Com- mittee members, or to the Chairmen of the Panels. The Committee intends to keep the community of marine scientists informed of its progress. Sincerely yours, Richard C. Vetter Executive Secretary 20 Top: An optical unit designed by Dr. William S. von Arx of the Institution, has a wide angle lens of 148°. The lens is mounted on a time-lapse motion picture camera and is used on board our plane to obtain cloud photographs. Dr. von Arx's finger points on the transparent globe where the field of view of the camera lens still "sees". Bottom: Taken with the wide angle lens this photo- graph was made from the cupola of the Laboratory of Oceanography looking at our main building. The insert shows the field of view of a normal lens. The writer, equipped with Aqua-Lung for free-diving, is shown operating a three- dimensional, electronic flash camera. A second automatic camera (Robot) enclosed in the same Plexiglas housing permits the diver to use both black-and-white and color film on the same dive. A built-in diver's flashlight facilitates aiming the camera in dark water. The assembly has withstood a pressure test equivalent to 400 feet of water, and may also be operated by remote control leads. D. M. Owen Photography Underwater Jhe wonderful world of the ocean bottom has been revealed by the camera. 22 Early History Since 1940 a new application of photography was brought about by the extension of practical underwater photography beyond depths attainable by men in diving suits and, eventually, beyond the depths reached by Beebe's bathysphere. Numerous bottom features and sunken wrecks, including one German sub- marine, were photographed and identified with a 35mm Robot underwater camera designed by Ewing, Worzel, and Vine. The bottom photographs showed details of geological interest which stimulated further experiments by many workers in the field. Straddling the stern of the ASTERIAS is the quadruped assembly supporting the 8,000 shot underwater time-lapse camera mentioned in the text. It was designed by Lloyd D. Hoadley, in collaboration with Dr. Harold E. Edgerton of M.I.T., and will remain focused on a small section of ocean bottom for periods as long as eight days. When frames originally exposed — with electronic flash — at ll/2 minute intervals are projected at 16 frames-per-second changes in bottom configuration may become apparent within seconds of screen time. Information Gained from Pictures Undersea photographs have shown that life on the deep ocean floor seems more abundant than net tows and dredge hauls indi- cated. Some indications of life are present in nearly every photo- graph made on the bottom. Though frequently tracks and holes of undetermined origin are the only evidence. (Random pictures from mid-water are much more disappointing in this respect!). Pictures taken in shallow coastal waters are likely to reveal many starfish, sand dollars, some plant life, and an occasional fish. With greater depths, however, the chances of photographing a living animal are rare and only occasionally has the camera made contact at the right location to obtain an intimate glimpse of a strange, rarely seen creature in its natural environment. A sea spider (Pycnogonid) measuring about 28 inches, three brittlestars, and numerous tracks on the ocean floor were shown in 1947 at a depth of 1000 fathoms, south of Cape Cod. The cloud raised from the bottom (seen at the top of the picture) resulted when the lead sinker of the fashing line deliberately attached to the camera struck bottom before the picture was taken. S f\ • / t F * x A shrimp, estimated to be five inches in length, in this great enlargement from a bottom photograph taken in 1947 in the Mediterranean Sea at a depth of 2100 feet. Note the sharp definition of the shrimp's shadow, especially the antennae. These specimens, when caught in deep trawl nets, are usually damaged by the net or distorted by the decrease in pressure when brought to the surface. This illustrates one distinct advantage of the undersea camera in deep sea exploration --the recording of marine organisms in their natural environment. The camera may also give an indication of the population density of organisms, since the field of view in each picture may usually be calculated. Many of the bottom photographs are of geological interest. They have shown that the top layers of the sediment are extens- ively worked over by the burrowing organisms, or that current action can be found at greater depths than had been supposed as evidenced by ripple and scour marks. Many sand dollars on a sandy bottom at a depth of 40 feet off the coast of Maine. A probable gorgonian, at a depth of 564 feet, near the coast of Venezuela. While bottom samplers bring up only a small portion of an area, a small coring tube, attached to the bottom camera, supplies a bottom sample plus a view of the area where it was collected. In addition, occasionally the camera will provide some knowledge of the ocean floor environment when mechanical samplers will not perform properly due to the nature of the bottom. A deep-sea time-lapse camera developed at the Institution can reveal interesting changes in bottom configuration, in certain localities, over a period of time. The quadrupod assembly is left in position, with suitable markers, and is self-sufficient to allow 8,000 pictures of one small area of sea bottom over a period of eight days. When the films are subsequently projected at 16 frames per second, this period of time is reduced to about eight minutes of screen time. An interesting burrowing activity, or living habit, is revealed in this bottom photograph at a depth of 1900 feet in the Aegean Sea. The tracks radiating from one hole are about 3 inches in width. The inhabitant is unknown. A pair of early model Ewing deep sea cameras was modified in this assembly which allows an unusual view of the ocean bottom; two 35mm Robot spring- driven cameras are focused at four feet, with a depression angle of only 25 degrees. A bottom trigger, or "foot", actu- ates the cameras and electronic flash on contact with the ocean bottom - as the unit is alter- nately lowered and raised by the operator. Excellent stereo- scopic color transparencies have been obtained within its depth limit of 800 feet. The cameras are immediately convertible to operation by remote-control leads from the surface. Methods Used in Deep Sea Photography This camera equipment must be designed for unattended oper- ation under conditions of extreme hydrostatic pressures, and to carry its own light source. All deep sea cameras have their own source of artificial illumination — whether flashbulbs or repeating, electronic flash. Except in the cases where underwater television (or an acoustic device) serves as the camera's "viewfinder", and the operator decides when the picture is to be made --by remote control --the deep sea camera frames its subjects according to its whims. Only on developing the films, often in a hot and bouncing shipboard darkroom, does the operator see the results. The situation may be likened to that of lowering a camera through the clouds from a dirigible, endeavoring to learn something of the earth's surface through photography. 27 The deep camera, triggered and recycled by contact with the ocean bottom, is an early modification of a Thorndike design by J. A. Posgay. The design features an extremely wide angle lens and 70mm film size. The deep sea camera may be actuated by any one of several means, according to its design. The "conventional" method has consisted of incorporating a switching arrangement whereby the camera takes the picture immediately when contact is made with the ocean bottom. Since camera orientation and subject distance remain essen- tially the same at the moment of triggering, from one picture to the next, the focus and ex- posure are preset and remain unchanged. In camera designs where bot- tom contact in addition to triggering the camera and flash • actuates an automatic film transport and shutter recocking (in some cases the shutter is absent), and where repeating electronic flash is employed, a series of bottom pictures may be obtained by the repeated lowering and raising of the in- strument - pogo stick fashion. This will be done while the vessel is drifting with the wind and/or current. Another camera design allows continuous firing and re-cycling of the mechanism regardless of target proximity. This device will take pictures not only at the bottom (the usual target) but also going down and going up. Establishing and maintain- ing the correct camera-to-bottom distance has been accomplished in deep water by some workers by means of acoustic or echo- sounder devices attached to the camera, which relay the vital information to the vessel above. 28 The deep sea camera shown here, also an early single shot model, used a true stereoscopic camera with a lens separa- tion of 2% inches. A trigger weight hanging beneath tripped this camera when in the correct position with respect to the ocean bottom. An early model deep sea stereoscopic camera, assernbled by the writer in 1949 and no longer in use, is shown in this night photograph taken aboard the ATLANTIS. Two individual cameras were contained in housings at the top, with a lens separation (stereo base) of 13 inches. The vane reduced rotation of the camera during the descent - and blurring of tne picture. The flashbulb was protected by a glass bowl in the reflector, near the bottom. The single pair of pictures was made when the trigger weight (hanging below) struck the bottom, allowing a sliding external magnet to actuate a switch in the Ewing battery case. The cameras used in deep-sea photography, enclosed in pressure- proof housings, are sometimes commercially-available, standard models more or less adapted by the laboratory for this work. Espec- ially the German Robot spring-driven still camera probably will continue to fill many requirements. The current tendency, however, is to design an entirely new camera that will take more pictures, and will fit in a stronger, more efficiently designed container. The film sizes employed for underwater still photography at W.H.O.I. are: 35mm, #120 roll film, and 70 mm film. Choices of emulsion vary among workers, partly depending upon the project at hand. Generally I use as powerful a light source as possible, then choose the film that will permit a small lens aperture - - for greater depth of focus. In one camera the sensitive Kodak Tri-X film may be necessary; another assembly may comfortably use the slow, fine-grained Panatomic-X film. Color film has been used experi- 29 WORKING DIAGRAM ELECTRONIC FLASH REPEATING CAMERA EXPOSURE DATA: FLASH DURATION. 1/1600 SEC. 45 SEC. INTERVAL 35MM SUPER-XX FILM.f/ll MAX. WORKING DE PTH, 4500 FT. In 1951 a converted 35mm motion picture camera, originally used by Dr. E. N. Harvey in a deep sea repeating electronic flash camera, was redesigned by L. D. Hoadley and the writer to the form represented in this drawing. The film ran through the camera continuously, at the rate of one frame every 45 seconds, and the operator attempted to maintain a distance of about two feet between the end of the vertical camera and the ocean bottom. The accompanying set of pictures illustrates the changes in the bottom type encountered during one drifting station off the New England Coast in 1952. (The blanks in this series indicate camera misfires.) BEGIN -i 30 PRINCIPAL POINT DIST. 7' An accumulation of probable manganese nodules on the Blake Plateau — of South Carolina — at a depth of 450 fathoms. A perspective grid overlay, as in this example, is helpful in esti- mating the size and distribution of objects lying on the ocean floor. mentally underwater by the writer for more than a year; it is an important aid in the identification of objects and eventually may displace black-and-white film. The use of color film eases photographic interpretation. Indeed, a bottom feature or fauna may be hardly noticeable (or invisible per se) when recorded in shades of gray, while natural color will immediately reveal the true situation. Even if the color is not recorded faithfully in all respects there will be superior tonal separation. The main deterrents to the use of color film have been insuf- ficient illumination, and the development procedure. The more critical and lengthy processing required did not encourage the development of exposed color film on board the vessel, where fre- / \ Manganese nodules are believed shown in the deepest photograph made by the writer in 1948, at a depth of 3,000 fathoms (3y2 miles) in the Western Atlantic Ocean. The field of view is approximately six feet from left to right. Close examination of the picture reveals apparent evidence of a bottom current — the scour marks on the same side of many of the objects. A small coring tube attached to the camera brought back a sample of globigerina ooze. 31 Sea anemones on a rocky bottom, at a depth of 80 feet off the New England Coast. quently it is advantageous to check results immediately. The first drawback has been largely overcome with the introduction of faster color emulsions such as Regular and Super Anscochrome, and Ektachrome. The second obstacle remains in effect, subject to the determination - - and courage of the photographer. On a recent expedition the writer resolved this problem by using two deep sea cameras in tandem - - one loaded with black-and-white film, the other with color. The black-and-white film was developed immediately, while the color film awaited commercial processing following the end of the cruise. A happy by-product of this arrange- ment is the possession of a stereoscopic set of pictures, after a black-and-white reproduction is made from the color transparency. Stereoscopic deep sea photography has in fact been practised by the writer since 1949. While increasing the weight and cost of the apparatus this technique, as many workers will agree, more than pays for itself in providing three-dimensional relief — a welcome advantage in dealing with unfamiliar surroundings on the ocean floor. The amount of information gleaned from the pictures, whether in black-and-white or in color, is considerably increased in many cases. In addition, pictures almost totally lacking in contrast and clarity due to the detrimental effect of turbid water have frequently "come to life" when stereo vision was introduced. In some applications it is more productive to have the two camera lenses separated by more than human inter-pupillary distance (about 2Vz inches) in order to exaggerate relief in an otherwise apparently flat, featureless ocean bottom. In early experiments with underwater exaggerated-stereo, I have increased the stereo base to as much as thirteen inches. Stereo vision may be combined with suitably constructed perspective (Canadian) grid overlays, permitting the analyst to estimate with a fair degree of accuracy the spacing and sizes of objects at varying distances from the underwater camera. (The Canadian grid is effective only for relatively low terrain, where the displacement for relief would be insignificant). Vertical meas- urements may be obtained from photogrammetrical computations. Colonies of holes ap- proximately 2-3 inches in diameter were found in sever- al bottom photographs made in the Medi- terranean and Aegean Seas in 1948. This photograph was taken at a depth of 3600 feet in the Aegean Sea. The holes are of undetermined origin. 33 - A self-contained diver sighting along an unusual, horizontal dark layer of suspended matter in Duck Pond, at an approximate depth of 40 feet. The diver shown in the picture occupies the critical viewing position - - a few inches too high or too low will cause the layer to disappear from sight. The layer includes some copepods, is mostly pellets which are probably a chemical precipitate - perhaps an iron oxide. (From a 16mm color motion picture frame.) In this photograph from Duck Pond, Arthur R. Miller is attempting to make a plankton net haul through the elusive, suspended layer. Note exhaust bubbles from breathing apparatus. Although the dive was made in mid-summer an exposure suit was necessary for diving in the 60° F water found a few feet below the surface. 34 A diver's hand pro- vides a scale for this picture of sand ripples and clumps of phor- onid worm tubes, at a depth of 97 feet in the New York Bight. The rod protruding from the left is sometimes used to maintain cor- rect distance for the electronic flash, and focus. I .\TMiny: •*- !< $KW Photography by Divers The lack of emphasis on diving photography at Woods Hole may be partly attributed to the geographical location of the labora- tory. Local conditions of turbidity are usually a challenge, and there is a temperature barrier to overcome during six months of the year. Furthermore, only in the past two or three years have any serious efforts been made to determine what could be done with diving photography in local waters. The previous three and a half years in which some Institution personnel had taken to diving were spent in developing underwater skills of a more im- mediate necessity, while relying on direct observation. Institution divers have begun to use hand cameras mainly to obtain a permanent record of what they see during their prowls; quite often, in fact, the camera is more observing or has a superior memory to that of the diver. This is understandable at times when the diver is more or less distracted by icy water flushing through his exposure suit, or when he must give unusual thought to the procedure of reaching his objective (and returning!). There is another interesting example of the flash camera's value to the diver. Due to the fact that the wavelengths of sunlight 35 A common skate (Raja erinacea) is photographed by diver Richard S. Edwards south of Jones Inlet, L.I., at a depth of 80 feet. The original color transparency shows underlying clay. A school of four to five-inch scup were photographed by diver Richard S. Edwards in the New York Bight at a depth of 93 feet. are progressively filtered during passage through water, starting at the red end of the spectrum, the diver cannot accurately report the colors of objects under water at any appreciable depth. Using daylight-type color film and electronic flash, however, simulating daylight illumination passing through a minimum of water, the camera will not be misled. In addition to recording bottom characteristics, the diver's hand-held camera may photograph the operation and efficiency of underwater equipment, as an aid in evaluating its use. The most exciting and physically demanding picture taking is en- countered while "riding" on the top of a net towed over the bottom by a fishing boat. Numerous brittlestars and sand dollars on Georges Bank at a depth of 800 feet. A fluke, or summer flounder (Para- lichthys dentatus) on a large sand wave near Lucas Shoal, Vineyard Sound, at a depth of 35 feet. 36 Plants and one of many unexplained shallow depressions found along the edge of Duck Pond, Wellfleet. Four scup, or northern porgy, appear aware of the deep sea camera in the Gulf of Mexico 500 feet below the surface. It is interesting to reflect on the odds against obtaining a picture such as this, when the camera flashed only once on arrival at the bottom, then was retrieved. The ocean bottom appears on a slant, at lower left. The bottom at 300 feet, south of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. An eel, approximately two feet in length, swims close to the bottom at a depth of 2100 feet in the Gulf of Mexico. Note the numerous holes and mounds, denoting con- siderable activity on the ocean floor. 38 Here Is How Stereo Works The reader may experiment with viewing a stereoscopic pair of under- water photographs. The sample was made in Penobscot Bay, Maine, at 93 feet in 1952, by an unmanned camera, and illustrates the advantage of stereo in underwater scientific work. First pick out as many salient details as possible from a single image, then try the mirror viewing as follows: Hold a small, purse-sized mirror with the edge along the face where the right side of the nose joins the cheek. Slant the mirror so that the right eye sees the reflections of the right stereo image while it looks down at the left image. The left eye also is looking directly at the left image. Thus the right eye sees the reflection of the right image and the left eye sees the other image and when both images appear to be on top of one another, they will fuse and true depth seen. Be sure to view the pictures from a point half-way between them, and keep the mirror parallel to the side of the page. I ' Currents and Tides Two changes appear on the inside cover beginning with this number. Dr. Paul M. Fye be- came Director on June first and Dr. Iselin the first Henry B. Bigelow Oceanographer. These appointments made at a meet- ing of the Board of Trustees of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on February 3, 1958, took effect with little fanfare. Dr. Fye, his wife, son Kenneth, 11, and daughter, Betsy, 7, are now living in "Meteor" House. In another column, it is to be noted that Dr. Fye is not a stranger in Woods Hole. The Institution staff is glad to wel- come him back after an absence of nearly twelve years. • The Saturday Review for July 5, 1958 features "Our Water Planet, a study of man and the sea" with the title article under the name of C. O'D. Iselin. In the biographical note accom- panying the article, considerable emphasis is given to the au- thor's early mentor, "a teacher of physics" at Harvard, Henry B. Bigelow. Miss Roberta Sil- man, the author of this note, fails to explain how the "teach- er of physics" came to work up under the eaves as a curator in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College for so many years nor why his mon- ographs on medusae, siphono- phores, zooplankton, sharks, skates, etc., outnumber those concerned with the physics of the sea. • During the spring months, Dr. Sheina Marshall and Dr. A. P. Orr of the Marine Station, Mill- port, Scotland, who have col- laborated in their planktonic studies for many years, visited the Institution to measure the respiration rate of the copepod Calanus finmarchicus using C14. At the same time, Dr. Robert Conover came over from the Narragansett Marine Labora- tory, University of Rhode Island to tackle the same problem, but using different methods. • Dr. George L. Clarke and Dr. John H. Ryther spent six weeks in the far east just before Christmas to attend the Ninth Pacific Science Congress in Bangkok and to lecture at vari- ous universities and marine stations in India. On Friday, June 27, 1958, at the weekly staff luncheon, it was officially announced that the Institution will acquire the use( but not the title to) a Navy ARS salvage and rescue ship which should be ready by the beginning of November. This is one of a class of vessels built in the early 1940's. She has an over-all length of 2 13 ¥2 feet, a 41 foot beam, a draft of 14 feet, 8 inches and displaces 2000 tons. After conversion it should be admirably suited for use as a research vessel to take the place of the "Yamacraw" which has been on loan from the Coast Guard. She can explore the rougher portions of the North Atlantic in winter. She will also have sufficient space to take out interested graduate students. 40 MBL/WHOI LIBRARY UH 17YU - ASSOCIATES OF THE WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION NOEL B. McLEAN, President JOHN A. GIFFORD, Secretary RONALD A. VEEDER, Executive Assistant CHARLES F. ADAMS BENJAMIN H. ALTON WINSLOW CARLTON RACHEL L. CARSON W. VAN ALAN CLARK PRINCE S. CROWELL F. HAROLD DANIELS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE JOHN A. GIFFORD PAUL HAMMOND NOEL B. McLEAN HENRY S. MORGAN MALCOLM S. PARK GERARD SWOPE, JR. THOMAS J. WATSON, JR. JAMES H. WICKERSHAM INDUSTRIAL COMMITTEE Chairman: CHARLES F. ADAMS President, Raytheon Manufacturing Company ROBERT M. AKIN. JR. F. M. BUNDY M. C. GALE MILLARD G. GAMBLE PAUL HAMMOND F. L. LaQUE LOUIS E. MARRON WILLIAM T. SCHWENDLER D. D. STROHMEIER MILES F. YORK President, Hudson Wire Company President, Gorton's of Gloucester, Inc. President, Monarch Edsel Company, Inc. President, Esso Shipping Company President, The Hammond, Kennedy & Legg Company Vice President, The International Nickel Company, Inc. Chairman, Coastal Oil Company Executive Vice President, Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation Vice President, Bethlehem Steel Company President, Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company EX-OFFICIO RAYMOND STEVENS, President PAUL M. FYE, Director EDWIN D. BROOKS, JR., Treasurer Contents Articles THE CAMERA AS A TOOL Claude Ronne 3O.OOO PHOTOS A SECOND TWO MILES DOWN ELECTRON MICROGRAPHS OF DIATOMS 13 Joyce C. Lewin & Delbert E. Philpott THE LUMINESCENCE CAMERA 14 George L. Clarke PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE SEA FLOOR 16 J. A. Posgay PHOTOGRAPHY UNDERWATER 22 D. M. Owen Features LETTER TO OCEANOGRAPHERS 2O HERE IS HOW STEREO WORKS 39 ASSOCIATES' NEWS 19 GIFTS AND GRANTS 19 CURRENTS AND TIDES 4O Published by WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION WOODS HOLE, MASSACHUSETTS