Bathysphere

Bathysphere‏‎

The Bathysphere was a unique, unpowered, deep-sea submersible that was lowered into the ocean on a cable, and was used to conduct a series of dives off the coast of Bermuda from 1930 to 1934. The Bathysphere was designed by the American engineer Otis Barton, and the naturalist William Beebe, and allowed the two men to observe deep-sea animals in their natural environment.

Design and Construction

The Bathysphere was a spherical deep-sea submersible which was lowered into the ocean on a cable. The sphere was made of cast steel and was 4.5 feet in diameter. It had two small windows, just 3 inches in diameter, and an entrance hatch that was bolted shut during dives. The sphere was filled with oxygen and the air pressure was kept constant to prevent the Bathysphere from being crushed by the immense water pressure at great depths.

Dives

The Bathysphere was used to conduct a series of dives off the coast of Bermuda from 1930 to 1934. The deepest dive, conducted on August 15, 1934, reached a depth of 3,028 feet, a record that stood for nearly 15 years. During these dives, Barton and Beebe observed and documented a variety of deep-sea animals, including bioluminescent creatures, and provided the first direct observations of deep-sea life.

Legacy

The Bathysphere paved the way for future deep-sea exploration and the development of modern submersibles. It also sparked public interest in deep-sea exploration and marine biology, and led to the establishment of the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences.

See also

• Deep-sea exploration
• Submersible
• William Beebe
• Otis Barton
• Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences