Challenger expedition

HMS Challenger refitted at Sheerness in 1872, Illustrated London News

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.

Maps of the Challenger's route.

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.[1] 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,[2] 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.[3] Other naval officers included Commander John Maclear.[4][1]

Under the scientific supervision of Thomson himself, the ship traveled approximately 68,890 nautical miles (79,280 miles; 127,580 kilometres) surveying and exploring.[5] 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". The report is available online as the Report of the Voyage of HMS Challenger. Challenger sailed close to Antarctica, but not within sight of it.[6][1] However, it was the first scientific expedition to take pictures of icebergs.[1]

  1. ^ a b c d Aitken, Frédéric; Foulc, Jean-Numa (2019). From deep sea to laboratory. 1: the first explorations of the deep sea by H.M.S. Challenger (1872–1876). London, UK: Iste-Wiley. ISBN 9781786303745.
  2. ^ Chamberlain, Daisy (26 March 2024). "Telling the story of the Challenger Expedition, 1872–76". Royal Museums Greenwich. Retrieved 15 August 2024. To prepare the ship for scientific work, HMS Challenger's refit commenced at the Royal Navy's Sheerness Dockyard in June 1872. The Admiralty estimated that repairs and modifications would require six months of planning and work.
  3. ^ Rice, A. L. (1999). "The Challenger Expedition". Understanding the Oceans: Marine Science in the Wake of HMS Challenger. Routledge. pp. 27–48. ISBN 9781857287059.
  4. ^ "The Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger 1873–1876. Narrative Vol. I. First Part. Chapter I" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2013. – pages 19 and 20 list the civilian staff and naval officers and crew, along with changes that took place during the voyage.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference eis was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Scott, Keith (1993). The Australian Geographic book of Antarctica. Terrey Hills, New South Wales: Australian Geographic. p. 115. ISBN 978-1862760103.