• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Science / What Were the Findings of the Observations and Experiments On Charles Wyville Thomson’s Challenger Expedition?

What Were the Findings of the Observations and Experiments On Charles Wyville Thomson’s Challenger Expedition?

March 3, 2020 by Karen Hill

The H.M.S. Challenger returned to England on May 24, 1876.

All the oceanographic findings of the Challenger expedition would take 20 years to compile into 50 volumes and almost 30,000 pages.

Charles Wyville Thomson was able to complete a two-volume account of the main findings before his death in 1882.

The most remarkable discovery of the expedition was that many living things existed at the bottom of the deepest parts of the ocean.

The greatest depth they measured was the Mariana Trench near Japan, at 26,900 feet. There was no azoic zone.

Thomson determined that most of these living things were nourished by organic particles from the surface. Dead fish nourished scavengers that also lived on the ocean floor.

The scientists created the first map plotting the ocean’s currents and temperatures. They made a map of the deposits of the ocean floor.

They discovered the existence of mountain ranges rising miles above the ocean floor and mapped the main contours of the ocean basins. They discovered an amazing 4,717 new species of ocean life-forms.

The findings of the expedition contributed to both navigation and science.

The shipping and fishing industries benefited from the findings on currents and meteorology. The new maps of the ocean floor aided the laying of telegraph cables across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

More expeditions would follow, and oceanography, a blend of biology, chemistry, geology, and physics, would become a very important part of twentieth-century science.

During the 1872-76 voyage of the H.M.S. Challenger, the first oceanographic research ship, Charles Wyville Thomson created drawings of sea creatures never before seen by humans.

Related Facts

  • Which Explorers First Explored the Continents of the World?
  • What Experiments Did Charles Wyville Thomson and Other Scientists Conduct On the Challenger Expedition?
  • Who Was Sir Charles Wyville Thomson and How Did the Challenger Expedition Help Advance Oceanography?
  • How Was the HMS Challenger Warship Modified For Charles Wyville Thomson’s Scientific Expedition In 1872?
  • What was the European Age of Exploration?
  • Who Discovered Deep Sea Life and How plants and animals can exist without light?

Filed Under: Science

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « What Was Pangaea, How Did the Supercontinent Pangaea Get Its Name, and What Does Pangaea Mean In Latin?
Next Post: How Did Scientists On the Challenger Expedition Measure Ocean Depth and Gather Ocean Floor Samples? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy