Oldest-Known Message in a Bottle Washes Up in Australia

WORLD

Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of today’s key resources in our Teachers Toolkit, including a link to today’s MapMaker Interactive map.

Discussion Ideas

OK, smart aleck. So, what did the message say?
- The message was remarkably succinct, and in German: It gave the date (12 June 1886), precise coordinates of where the bottle was thrown overboard (-32.49, 105.25), the name of the ship (Paula), the ship’s journey (Cardiff, Wales, to Makassar, Indonesia), and a request to report discovery of the bottle to the German Naval Observatory in Hamburg.

Why was the bottle thrown overboard?
- The bottle was one of thousands thrown overboard as part of a massive experiment to study ocean currents and shipping routes. Such bottles were used until the 1960s. (!)
- Today, the devices to track and analyze ocean circulation are called “drifters,” and may contain high-tech instruments to provide data on velocity, salinity, temperature, or the presence of pollutants.
  - More than 30 countries participate in the Global Drifter Program. Learn more about that from the good folks at NOAA here, and map ocean currents yourself with our activity here.

Very few bottles from the Paula or other participating ships were recovered. What might be some reasons for this?
- Some bottles probably washed up on unexplored coastlines, such as those in Antarctica. (Start looking!)
- Some bottles probably broke, took on water, and sank to the bottom of the sea.
- Some of the glass bottles may have survived as seaglass, but the inexpensive, delicate paper the notes were printed on may have disintegrated on exposure to seawater, churning currents, abrasive beach sand, or more than 100 years of direct sunlight.

Take a look at today’s MapMaker Interactive map. The Paula bottle did not travel too far. Why do you think it took more than 100 years to travel fewer than 1,000 kilometers (600 miles)?
- Ocean currents do not follow straight paths. They move in large, vaguely circular gyres. Learn more about ocean currents here.
- It actually didn’t take the bottle more than a year to wash up on Wedge Island. It’s been buried under the sand for the rest of the time. The tightly rolled note was protected by the dark, sturdy glass and layers of sand.

Can I track ocean currents with a message in a bottle?
- No, that’s not a good idea. You’re creating marine debris.
- You CAN track ocean currents by getting involved with the Global Drifter Program, which is not nearly as shady as it sounds.
  - Check out the program’s latest maps, and track a particular drifter by choosing the ID here, and entering it here. Having students map different drifters might be a fun class activity. (And, again, not as shady as it sounds.)

TEACHERS TOOLKIT