Challenger-Expedition
The Challenger Expedition (1872-1876) was a British expedition that brought important information about the geological and zoological nature of the ocean floor. She was the first global Seeexpedition, which had been designed only to pure research purpose.
Overall, the expedition ship " Challenger " put a distance of approximately 130,000 kilometers ( 70,000 nautical miles ) and thus ran through almost the entire world ocean. The Challenger Expedition applies characterized as a foundation for the modern Ozeonologie ( Oceanography ). Important research points were the Bahamas, the Marion Islands in the Southern Ocean, New Zealand and the Aucklandinseln and at that time the unexplored New Guinea.
The results were compiled in 50 volumes of event ( 29,000 pages, 3,000 tables and charts ) in 20 years evaluation.
Prehistory
Before the Challenger expedition, the knowledge about the deeper ocean regions stood at the very beginning. Only the shallow shelf sea was already known. About the deep sea on the other hand entwined just myths and speculation. Only the U.S. Hassler Expedition or the German North Sea Expedition Pomerania brought first insights into the deeper ocean regions.
The first commercially interested explorations came from the submarine telegraph industry, which wanted to know about the ground of their connecting lines through the deep sea more. Finally came the numerous science-oriented research trips. Challenger will ultimately be the most successful of these major expeditions.
Preparations
Expectations of the expedition
The tasks of the Challenger expedition were given concretely. At the center of the physical investigations of the deep sea stood in the great ocean basins in terms of temperature, depth and currents. For this purpose, chemical analysis of sea water came in various marine and deep regions. The third research objective was to explore the biological organisms and the seabed. In addition to measurements at sea should also explorations and studies of the biological characteristics of the tarnished islands and mainlands be performed.
Participants in the expedition
A total of 29 members participated as planned part in the expedition, some of which were eliminated by premature departure or sudden death. Vice Lieutenant HC Sloggett was replaced by HC Harston from the stage destination Halifax ( Nova Scotia ). In addition, Captain George Nares and Lieutenant Pelham Aldrich joined in December 1874 a British expedition to the Arctic and retired so out of the study. They were replaced by Charles Wyville Thomson (Captain) and William Benjamin Carpenter ( Lieutenant ). During the trip to Tahiti, the biologist Rudolf von Willemoes - Suhm died of an infectious disease.
The Challenger Expedition was in its time the second- most occupied with scientists and scholars expedition after the Second German North Pole Expedition.
Duration
The journey took 21 December 1872 to 24 May 1876. The name of the expedition depends on the Corvette Challenger under the command of Captain Sir George Nares ( which, however, recalled in the course of the expedition because of its polar experience and, with another task was an expedition to the North Pole entrusted ) and the scientific director Sir Charles Wyville Thomson. In addition to numerous officers also a number of specialized scientists on board, the equipment of all kinds for deep-sea research were doing were: chemical, physical and biological laboratories and chambers photographers were present. Wyville Thomson's assistant John Murray published the results of the expedition to the year 1896 in 50 volumes. Thus the science of oceanography was founded.
Scientific research
In addition to hydrographic research meteorological, magnetic, geological, zoological and botanical researches were made. The survey of the coastal course and the position of some little-known islands was the object of the expedition.
To process the collected data and samples at the expedition lasted decades. The material was sent to a number of international experts, who were in turn as thanks a copy of the results. 4717 new types of marine organisms have been discovered. The German marine biologist Ernst Haeckel radiolarians were left, of whom he described 3500 new species.
The researchers of the expedition solved the mystery of the substance Bathybius that was previously described as primeval creatures, it turned out that it was colloidally precipitated calcium sulfate.
Itinerary
About the Bay of Biscay, the Challenger ran to the Strait of Gibraltar, sailed via Madeira and Tenerife across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. There you went to Saint Thomas. To investigate the Gulf Stream, then they turned to Bermuda, from here to the Azores, Cape Verde, St. Paul and to Bahia.
From there we went across the South Atlantic after Tristan da Cunha and the Cape of Good Hope. There, the Challenger was launched on December 17, 1873 by the Prince Edward, Crozet, Kerguelen and McDonald Islands in the Antarctic polar region up to 66 ° 40 ' south latitude and 78 ° east longitude. Man held here after the Terra australis incognita out, but could see no land.
We headed north again and arrived on 17 March 1874 after Melbourne, later went to Sydney, New Zealand, Fiji to the Torres Strait, the southern coast of New Guinea and the Moluccas. Then we ran the Philippines, went from there to the north coast of New Guinea to the Admiralty Islands and arrived in Yokohama (Japan) on 11 April 1875. About the Sandwich Islands, Tahiti and the Juan Fernández Archipelago, the return journey, on the Valparaíso and the Strait of Magellan, the Falkland Islands were run began. About Montevideo, the Cape Verde Islands and Vigo came the Challenger on 24 May 1876, rich yield of scientific material to Portsmouth back.
Overall, the trip lasted for 68 890 nautical miles. It took during the trip before Tiefseelotungen 374, 255 deep-sea temperature measurements and 240 trawl trains.