What was the major discovery of the HMS Challenger expedition?
What was the major discovery of the HMS Challenger expedition?
Halfway through the journey, in the spring of 1875, Challenger made one of its greatest discoveries: the Mariana Trench, containing the deepest point on Earth. The Mariana Trench is located near Guam, about 1,500 miles east of the Philippines.
What was the biggest legacy of the Challenger Expedition?
Legacy & Impact They discovered around 4,700 new species of marine life, including new plants and animals that had never before been seen. They also discovered what is now called the Challenger Deep, a deep part of the Pacific Ocean that’s part of the Mariana Trench.
What was the maximum depth recorded by the Challenger Expedition?
5,940 fathoms
The greatest depth recorded was 5,940 fathoms (35,640 ft; 10,863 m), at 11°19′N 142°15′E.
Who built the Challenger Expedition?
The Challenger Expedition, which embarked from Portsmouth, England, on 21 December 1872, was a grand tour of the world covering 68,000 nautical miles (125,936 km) organized by the Royal Society in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh. Charles Thomson was the leader of a large scientific team.
How did they discover the Challenger Deep?
The depths of the Mariana Trench were first plumbed in 1875 by the British ship H.M.S. Challenger as part of the first global oceanographic cruise. The Challenger scientists recorded a depth of 4,475 fathoms (about five miles, or eight kilometers) using a weighted sounding rope.
What theory did the Challenger expedition disprove?
With the desire to know the mystery of whether life existed deep in the ocean, the Challenger crew headed deeper and further into the wilderness of the oceans. Along its route, the ship found many forms of life in the sea that entirely overturned the general belief of the time that the deep ocean was a dead zone.
What were 5 of the findings from the Challenger expedition?
Among the results of the Challenger Expedition were determinations of oceanic temperature, ocean currents, and the depths and contours of the great ocean basins; charting, surveying, and biological investigations were also carried on.
Is the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench?
Toward the southern end of the Mariana Trench lies the Challenger Deep. It sits 36,070 feet below sea level, making it the point most distant from the water’s surface and the deepest part of the Trench.
Is there life in Challenger Deep?
Estimates vary a little, but at its blackest depths, a crease called the Challenger Deep, this abyss is close to 36,037 feet (10,984 meters), or about 6.8 miles (10.9 kilometers) deep. If you plunge deeper than 3,280 feet (1,000 meters) into the ocean, there’s no sunlight to spawn life.
What kind of ship was the Challenger expedition?
On the 7th December 1872, the expedition put to sea from Sheerness aboard the corvette H.M.S. Challenger. The vessel was a three-masted square-rigged wooden ship of 2300 tons displacement and some 200 feet in length. She was essentially a sailing ship even though she possessed an engine of 1200 horsepower.
What was the first mission of the Challenger?
The Apollo 17 lunar module also was called Challenger. Like their predecessors, Challenger and its crews made significant scientific contributions. Challenger’s first mission was STS-6, launched April 4, 1983.
What was the legacy of the Space Shuttle Challenger?
Challenger and its crew live on as part of NASA’s space shuttle legacy. The discoveries made on the shuttle’s many missions continue to improve mankind’s knowledge of space flight and its applications to life on Earth.
Why was the HMS Challenger chosen for exploration?
The primary reason for the HMS Challenger being chosen for the exploration was on account of its operational duality. Although the vessel was a sailing ship with three masts, it was also equipped with ancillary steamer propellants that made it quite feasible and viable to last the long course of the exploration.
Who was the leader of the Challenger expedition?
Challenger expedition (1872–5) The first expedition to explore the deep oceans was led by John Murray, in the British naval ship HMS Challenger. With a staff of biologists, chemists, and geologists, the expedition surveyed the Atlantic, Indian, Antarctic, and Pacific Oceans, taking soundings and collecting specimens in dredges.
What was the purpose of the HMS Challenger expedition?
The HMS Challenger Expedition The 1870s voyage of HMS Challenger lasted 1,000 days and covered more than 68,000 nautical miles. Many consider it to be the first true oceanographic expedition because it yielded a wealth of information about the marine environment.
How many miles did the Challenger expedition cover?
See Article History. Challenger Expedition, prolonged oceanographic exploration cruise from Dec. 7, 1872, to May 26, 1876, covering 127,600 km (68,890 nautical miles) and carried out through cooperation of the British Admiralty and the Royal Society.
What did the Challenger discover about the ocean?
This expedition produced the first global cross-section of the ocean’s depth profile and identified over 4,700 ocean-dwelling animal species never before known. The Challenger returned triumphantly to Europe freighted with tens of thousands of photographs, drawings, measurements, and biological and geological samples.
