The History of the Challenger Expedition
In 1870, Charles Wyville Thomson (right), Professor of Natural History at Edinburgh University, persuaded the Royal Society of London to ask the British Government to furnish one of Her Majesty's ships for a prolonged voyage of exploration across the oceans of the globe. 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. It was planned that the ship would be under sail for most of the cruise, using the engine primarily for manoeuvring when conducting scientific observations and deploying heavy gear. All but two of the ship's 17 guns had been removed to make way for purpose-built scientific laboratories and workrooms designed specifically for biological, chemical and physical work. Storage space for all the trawls and dredges was also necessary, together with space for the anticipated sample collection.
The commanding officer was Captain George Nares (left), with approximately 20 naval officers (including surgeons and engineers) and 200 crew. There were six civilian staff and scientists under the direction of Wyville Thomson that included the naturalists John Murray and Henry N. Mosely, the chemist/physicist John Buchanan and the official artist J.J. Wild.
Between her departure in December 1872 and her return to Spithead on 24 May 1876, H.M.S. Challenger traversed 68,890 nautical miles, in the course of which she sampled in the North and South Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and travelled north of the limits of drift ice in the North Atlantic polar seas and south of the Antarctic Circle.
Wyville Thomson reported the Challenger to have made 362 sample/observation stations "at intervals as nearly uniform as possible". At each station, the following observations were made, as far as circumstances allowed:
- The exact depth was determined.
- A sample of the bottom averaging from 1 ounce to 1 pound in weight was recovered by means of the sounding instrument.
- A sample of bottom water was procured for chemical/physical examination.
- The bottom temperature was recorded by a registering thermometer.
- At most stations, a fair sample of the bottom fauna was procured by means of the dredge or trawl.
- At most stations, the fauna of the surface and of intermediate depths was examined by the use of tow nets variously adjusted.
- At most stations, a series of temperature observations was made at different depths from the surface to the bottom.
- At many stations, samples of sea-water were obtained from different depths.
- In all cases, atmospheric and other meteorological conditions were carefully observed and noted.
- The direction and rate of the surface current was determined.
- At a few stations, an attempt was made to ascertain the direction and rate of movement of the water at different depths.
At its completion, The Report discussed with full detail of text and illustrations the currents, temperatures, depths and constituents of the oceans, the topography of the sea bottom, the geology and biology of its covering and the animal life of the abyssal waters. The Challenger cruise had lain the cornerstone of scientific oceanography and begun its introduction to the wider scientific and lay community. The findings of the cruise were correctly described by John Murray in 1895 as "the greatest advance in the knowledge of our planet since the celebrated discoveries of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries".
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Workshop on the contribution of UK Arctic Ocean science to the International Polar Year 32/33
12:00 11th June – 16:00 12th June 2025: NOC Southampton (In-person with online option): Registration deadline 16th May
REGISTER HERE
Pre-meeting questionnaire (open to all)
The purpose of this workshop is for the UK Ocean Science community to discuss and then draft a prospectus document outlining the priority Arctic research questions the community would like to address during the run up to, throughout and beyond the International Polar Year 32/33. Additionally, to identify what unique strengths and technologies the UK has to help fill these knowledge gaps.
The second day of the workshop will be dedicated to writing groups, one for each of the priority research questions identified - from both the pre-meeting questionnaire (HERE) and day one discussion. By the end of the meeting, each group will have produced draft text and sourced supporting figures for the prospectus.
Post meeting, the draft will be opened for comments and suggestions from everyone, regardless of whether they were able to attend the workshop or not. It will then be shared with UK funders (UKRI, FCDO, DSIT, ARIA) and potential international programmes with whom we would like to collaborate (e.g. Arctic 2050, Norway). It will form a basis from which wider integration with terrestrial, atmospheric and cryosphere communities can be built, e.g. at the UK Arctic Science Meeting in September in Northumbria.
To ensure balanced community and ECR representation, and to ensure that the size of the writing groups is efficient and effective, if the number of registrations from individual institutes becomes overwhelming, we may contact individuals or teams and ask that each institute selects a smaller number of individuals to attend in-person. Please wait for confirmation of in-person attendance before finalising travel arrangements.
The workshop will be open to hybrid attendance and contributions on both days.
Challenger Society Council Position Vacancy
The Challenger Society for Marine Science (CSMS) are pleased to announce an exciting opportunity to support the next generation of ocean scientists and innovators. CSMS are looking for a new Council member to fill the Student Travel Awards and Stepping Stones Portfolio. The successful applicant will administer the travel and research grants available for Early Career Researchers.
The role involves:
- Receiving applications for the two schemes and responding to applicant inquiries
- Soliciting and compiling input from the rest of the Council for assessing the applications
- Communicating with successful and unsuccessful applicants for the two schemes
- Working with the Honorary Treasurer on allocating funds to successful applicants
- Following up with award winners on their reporting requirements
- Attending Council meetings four times a year (in person or online) and contributing to discussions and decision making for CSMS
The usual term for Council members is three years.
For more information about the CSMS Council, please follow this link: https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/The_Council
For more information about our Early Career Researcher grants and awards, please follow this link:
https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/Stepping_Stones
and
https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/Travel_awards
If you are interested in applying or have any questions regarding the role, please contact kathen@bas.ac.uk
NOC Association (NOCA) AGM 2025
The 14th AGM of the NOC Association will be held on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th May 2025. This free, on-line event will take place on Zoom, across two consecutive mornings, each starting at 10:00 and ending at 12:30. The agenda will focus on national capability (NC) science, ships, and autonomous vehicles, and how the community can engage. There will be an update on AtlantiS and on the new marine science scoping group. All are warmly welcome to join.
To participate, please complete your registration here.
For enquiries: Jackie Pearson, Secretary to NOCA: jfpea@noc.ac.uk