137k views
5 votes
What were the major contributions of the H.M.S. Challenger to the study of oceanography? How did its expedition contribute to future studies of the ocean?

User Roy Shmuli
by
4.5k points

2 Answers

3 votes

Answer:

The H.M.S. Challenger changed the course of scientific history. The expeditions circumnavigated the world, sounded the ocean floor to a depth of 26,850 feet. Itdiscovered numerous new species, and supplied collections for hundreds of researchers over their four-year adventure. The Challenger was a corvette, a military ship that went by sail but had auxiliary steam power to help steady the ship during sampling. The expedition was commanded by C. Wyville Thomson, who died of fatigue on May 24, 1876, at the end of the voyage. The Challenger has zig-zagged its way around the world, stopping at every continent except Antarctica. Sir John Murray oversaw the Challenger expedition's reports, and his biological results were crucial to the eventual development of marine biology. For example, he decided that the deep-sea fauna was not "old" since it did not reflect faunas found in ancient fossil beds.

Step-by-step explanation:

Here's a shorter paraphrased response

User Rob Whelan
by
5.3k points
4 votes

Answer:

The H.M.S. Challenger embarked from Portsmouth, England on December 21, 1872 and changed the course of scientific history. Physicists, chemists, and biologists collaborated with expert navigators to map the sea. This interdisciplinary spirit has continued to the present day. During the 4 year journey, the voyages circumnavigated the globe, sounded the ocean bottom to a depth of 26,850 feet, found many new species, and provided collections for scores of biologists.

C. Wyville Thomson led the expedition but died of exhaustion from the journey, which ended on May 24, 1876. The Challenger had zig-zagged around the globe and had visited every continent, including Antarctica.

The reports of the Challenger expedition were supervised by Sir John Murray, whose biological conclusions were of great importance to the later development of marine biology. He concluded, for example, that the deep-sea fauna was not "ancient," in that it did not resemble the faunas found in ancient fossil deposits.

Step-by-step explanation:

User Andreas Brinck
by
5.0k points