Thesaurus

ocean depth

Scientific instruments are dropped overboard in Antarctic waters to collect information on the changes that are happening down there. Measuring rates of change in the temperature and salinity of bottom water along the ice shelves, for example, helps scientists make predictions about global warming. Polystyrene cups are often decorated, bound up in bags and sent down with them. Crushed under the immense pressure of the water, they become miniatures, and are treasured by the expeditioners as souvenirs of their part in this work.

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Drawings on cups by Dr. Karin Beaumont, Deputy Voyage Leader, Marine biologist/artist, Australian Antarctic Division, Southern Ocean, 2006.