Fitzgerald sounding machine for collecting specimens from the sea bottom

Made:: 1867 in England

Fitzgerald sounding machine for collecting specimens from the sea bottom, designed by Lieutenant Fitzgerald, c.1867. The instrument’s detaching iron weight is represented by a wooden model. It is of the type used on HMS Cordelia for deep sea sounding operations between Jamaica and Cuba, 1867-1868; and by Charles Wyville-Thomson aboard HMS Lightning for investigations into deep sea life, 1868.

This simple device enabled samples to be collected from the sea floor and, simultaneously, the depth of the sea floor to be measured. When it struck bottom and the strain came off the rope, the vertical metal arm slipped sideways, detaching its weight and driving the scoop into the sea bed. On hauling up, the apparatus fell into a nearly vertical line with the full scoop coming up in the middle, its mouth closed against the lid.

Details

Category:: Oceanography

Object Number:: 1876-827

type:: mechanical sounders

credit:: Admiralty Hydrographic Department

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Parts

Wooden model of detaching weight of Fitzgerald sounding machine

Wooden model of iron detaching weight from Fitzgerald sounding machine for collecting specimens from the sea bottom, designed by Lieutenant Fitzgerald, c.1867. It is of the type used on HMS Cordelia for deep sea sounding operations between Jamaica and Cuba, 1867-1868; and by Charles Wyville-Thomson aboard HMS Lightning for investigations into deep sea life, 1868.

Materials:: wood (unidentified)

Object Number:: 1876-827/1

type:: block

Vertical arm, scoop, lid and chain from Fitzgerald sounding machine

Vertical arm, scoop, lid and chain from Fitzgerald sounding machine for collecting specimens from the sea bottom, designed by Lieutenant Fitzgerald, c.1867. It is of the type used on HMS Cordelia for deep sea sounding operations between Jamaica and Cuba, 1867-1868; and by Charles Wyville-Thomson aboard HMS Lightning for investigations into deep sea life, 1868.