DEFINITION OF CHALLENGER

The H.M.S. Challenger left dock at Portsmouth,

England, on December 21, 1872, on the world’s first purely

scientific oceanographic expedition. This four-year voyage of

the Challenger, the accounts of which are published in 50 volumes,

changed the course of scientific history. The ship included

an interdisciplinary crew of geologists, biologists, chemists,

and physicists, who collaborated to map the oceans and collect

information about the natural and human environment of the

seas. The Challenger circumnavigated the globe, discovered

and cataloged numerous new species, described and collected

samples forming a wealth of geological data, and sounded the

depths of the oceans to 26,850 feet (8,185 m), providing the

first maps of the seafloor. During the voyage, the ship crossed

the oceans many times, visiting every continent including

Antarctica. The scientists on board the Challenger also

described the many indigenous people they encountered in

remote parts of the globe. The ship was piloted by Sir Charles

Wyville Thomson, a natural history professor from the University

of Edinburgh, who died from exhaustion from the rigors

of the trip. He was aided by Sir John Murray, a biologist

whose observations were extremely influential in establishing

the field of marine biology.

The H.M.S. Challenger was a 226-foot (69-m) long

three-masted square rigger with 2,300 tons of displacement,

plus a 1,200-horsepower motor. Since it was a former naval

vessel, 16 of the 18 cannons were removed to make room for

sampling lines and scientific equipment. The ship was

equipped with some of the best labs available for the cruise,

including a natural history laboratory for describing biological

and geological samples, and a chemistry laboratory. The

ship carried a carbonic acid analysis apparatus, a Buchanan

water sampler, and a dredge-style bottom sampler.

The ship’s crew and scientific team took regular samples

and measurements while at sea and stopped at 362 stations.

At these stations, they would determine the water depth, collect

a bottom sample, collect waters from different depths, do

temperature profiles, sample the fauna and flora, collect geological

samples, take meteorological observations, and measure

currents.

The voyage resulted in a number of major scientific findings.

The crew produced the first systematic map of ocean

currents and temperatures around the world and mapped the

bottom deposits and main contours of the oceans. They discovered

the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a submarine mountain range,

and found the deepest point then known on the Earth, the

Challenger Deep (26,900 feet; 8,200 m) in the Marianas

trough. In addition the scientists on board discovered and

described 715 new genera and 4,717 new species of ocean

life-forms, and they discovered prodigious life-forms at great

depths in the ocean, dispelling earlier claims that the deep

oceans were devoid of life.

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