Voyage Of The Challenger: The Atlantic

The British government supported an expedition in 1871 to collect data and specimens from the world's oceans. Led by Charles Wyville Thomson, the expedition used HMS Challenger and traveled 70,000 nautical miles, discovering over 4,000 new marine species. They also found the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Pacific's deepest trench, laying the foundation for modern oceanography. The two-volume account, published in 1877, summarizes the major discoveries from the Atlantic legs of the voyage, including descriptions of the laboratories and equipment, observations from Portsmouth to the Caribbean, and studies on the Gulf Stream. The account is illustrated with plates and woodcuts.

In 1871 the British government agreed to support an expedition to collect physical and chemical data and biological specimens from the world's oceans. Led by Charles Wyville Thomson (1830-82), the expedition used HMS Challenger, refitted with laboratories. They sailed nearly 70,000 nautical miles around the world, took soundings and water samples at hundreds of stops along the way, and discovered more than 4,000 new marine species. Noted for the discovery of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Pacific's deepest trench, the expedition laid the foundations for modern oceanography. This acclaimed two-volume account, first published in 1877, summarises the major discoveries for the Atlantic legs of this pioneering voyage. Illustrated with plates and woodcuts, Volume 1 describes the laboratories and equipment, the observations from Portsmouth via Tenerife to the Caribbean, and the detailed studies on the Gulf Stream.