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Challenger expedition
The Challenger expedition of 1872–1876 was a scientific programme that made many discoveries to lay the foundation of oceanography. The expedition was named after the naval vessel that undertook the trip, HMS Challenger.
The expedition, initiated by William Benjamin Carpenter, was placed under the scientific supervision of Sir Charles Wyville Thomson—of the University of Edinburgh and Merchiston Castle School—assisted by five other scientists, including Sir John Murray, a secretary-artist and a photographer. The Royal Society of London obtained the use of Challenger from the Royal Navy and in 1872 modified the ship for scientific tasks at Sheerness, equipping it with separate laboratories for natural history and chemistry. The expedition, led by Captain George Nares, sailed from Portsmouth, England, on 21 December 1872. Other naval officers included Commander John Maclear.
Under the scientific supervision of Thomson himself, the ship travelled approximately 68,890 nautical miles (79,280 miles; 127,580 kilometres) surveying and exploring. The result was the Report of the Scientific Results of the Exploring Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger during the years 1873–76 which, among many other discoveries, catalogued over 4,000 previously unknown species. John Murray, who supervised the publication, described the report as "the greatest advance in the knowledge of our planet since the celebrated discoveries of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries". Challenger sailed close to Antarctica, but not within sight of it. However, it was the first scientific expedition to take pictures of icebergs.
The expedition, which circumnavigated the Earth, collected data by lowering sounding lines to the bottom of the ocean floor to measure its depth and collect sediment samples, by collecting marine organisms by means of dredges lowered to the ocean floor and trawls lowered into the water at different depths, by measuring temperature at various depths and by collecting samples of seawater at standard depths for chemical analysis. They collected plankton samples and recorded the speed and direction of ocean surface currents. Samples were preserved in brine or alcohol, or dried, then brought to Europe and distributed to various experts to analyse.
To enable it to probe the depths, 15 of Challenger's 17 guns were removed and its spars reduced to make more space available. Laboratories, extra cabins and a special dredging platform were installed. Challenger used mainly sail power during the expedition; the steam engine was used only for dragging the dredge, station-keeping while taking soundings, and entering and leaving ports. It was loaded with specimen jars, filled with alcohol for preservation of samples, microscopes and chemical apparatus, trawls and dredges, thermometers, barometers, water sampling bottles, sounding leads, devices to collect sediment from the sea bed and great lengths of rope with which to suspend the equipment into the ocean depths.
Because of the novelty of the expedition, some of the equipment was invented or specially modified for the occasion. It carried 181 miles (291 km) of Italian hemp rope for sounding.
On its landmark journey circumnavigating the globe, 492 deep sea soundings, 133 bottom dredges, 151 open water trawls and 263 serial water temperature observations were taken. About 4,700 new species of marine life were discovered.
The scientific work was conducted by Wyville Thomson, John Murray, John Young Buchanan, Henry Nottidge Moseley and Rudolf von Willemoes-Suhm. Frank Evers Bed was appointed prosector. The official expedition artist was John James Wild. As well as Nares and Maclear, others that were part of the naval crew included Pelham Aldrich, George Granville Campbell and Andrew Francis Balfour (one of the sons of Scottish botanist John Hutton Balfour). Also among the officers was Thomas Henry Tizard, who had carried out important hydrographic observations on previous voyages. Though he was not among the civilian scientific staff, Tizard would later help write the official account of the expedition, and also become a Fellow of the Royal Society.
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Challenger expedition
The Challenger expedition of 1872–1876 was a scientific programme that made many discoveries to lay the foundation of oceanography. The expedition was named after the naval vessel that undertook the trip, HMS Challenger.
The expedition, initiated by William Benjamin Carpenter, was placed under the scientific supervision of Sir Charles Wyville Thomson—of the University of Edinburgh and Merchiston Castle School—assisted by five other scientists, including Sir John Murray, a secretary-artist and a photographer. The Royal Society of London obtained the use of Challenger from the Royal Navy and in 1872 modified the ship for scientific tasks at Sheerness, equipping it with separate laboratories for natural history and chemistry. The expedition, led by Captain George Nares, sailed from Portsmouth, England, on 21 December 1872. Other naval officers included Commander John Maclear.
Under the scientific supervision of Thomson himself, the ship travelled approximately 68,890 nautical miles (79,280 miles; 127,580 kilometres) surveying and exploring. The result was the Report of the Scientific Results of the Exploring Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger during the years 1873–76 which, among many other discoveries, catalogued over 4,000 previously unknown species. John Murray, who supervised the publication, described the report as "the greatest advance in the knowledge of our planet since the celebrated discoveries of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries". Challenger sailed close to Antarctica, but not within sight of it. However, it was the first scientific expedition to take pictures of icebergs.
The expedition, which circumnavigated the Earth, collected data by lowering sounding lines to the bottom of the ocean floor to measure its depth and collect sediment samples, by collecting marine organisms by means of dredges lowered to the ocean floor and trawls lowered into the water at different depths, by measuring temperature at various depths and by collecting samples of seawater at standard depths for chemical analysis. They collected plankton samples and recorded the speed and direction of ocean surface currents. Samples were preserved in brine or alcohol, or dried, then brought to Europe and distributed to various experts to analyse.
To enable it to probe the depths, 15 of Challenger's 17 guns were removed and its spars reduced to make more space available. Laboratories, extra cabins and a special dredging platform were installed. Challenger used mainly sail power during the expedition; the steam engine was used only for dragging the dredge, station-keeping while taking soundings, and entering and leaving ports. It was loaded with specimen jars, filled with alcohol for preservation of samples, microscopes and chemical apparatus, trawls and dredges, thermometers, barometers, water sampling bottles, sounding leads, devices to collect sediment from the sea bed and great lengths of rope with which to suspend the equipment into the ocean depths.
Because of the novelty of the expedition, some of the equipment was invented or specially modified for the occasion. It carried 181 miles (291 km) of Italian hemp rope for sounding.
On its landmark journey circumnavigating the globe, 492 deep sea soundings, 133 bottom dredges, 151 open water trawls and 263 serial water temperature observations were taken. About 4,700 new species of marine life were discovered.
The scientific work was conducted by Wyville Thomson, John Murray, John Young Buchanan, Henry Nottidge Moseley and Rudolf von Willemoes-Suhm. Frank Evers Bed was appointed prosector. The official expedition artist was John James Wild. As well as Nares and Maclear, others that were part of the naval crew included Pelham Aldrich, George Granville Campbell and Andrew Francis Balfour (one of the sons of Scottish botanist John Hutton Balfour). Also among the officers was Thomas Henry Tizard, who had carried out important hydrographic observations on previous voyages. Though he was not among the civilian scientific staff, Tizard would later help write the official account of the expedition, and also become a Fellow of the Royal Society.