Norwegian North Sea Expedition
The Norwegian North Sea Expedition (also Vøringen Expedition ) was an oceanographic research expedition with the steamship Vøringen in the summer months from 1876 to 1878. The marine area examined comprised the entire European North Sea as well as parts of the eastern Greenland Sea off Spitsbergen and the western Barents Sea . In addition to extensive research into this marine area, particularly in the service of the fishing industry , Norway also pursued the goal of substantiating its claim to its economic use. The expedition marks the beginning of the Norwegian expansion policy, which led to the annexation of arctic areas such as Spitzbergen (1925), Jan Mayen (1930) and parts of Greenland (" Eirik Raudes Land ", 1931–1933; Fridtjof-Nansen-Land , 1932–1933) led.
Historical environment
The ocean and its economic resources have always been of fundamental importance to the people of Norway. It is only thanks to the Gulf Stream that the country has a mild climate for its geographical latitude. Fish has been the country's most important export good since the Middle Ages. The annual catches fluctuated strongly. So was z. B. In 1860 cod fishing in the Vestfjord , which has been practiced since the 12th century, collapsed. During the cold 1870s, in addition to agricultural crop yields , the herring catch also declined, which led to a wave of emigration to the New World. Despite the grave influence of the North Sea on the thriving of Norwegian society, it was almost entirely unexplored until the second half of the 19th century. At most, its edges have been scientifically examined. Michael Sars , a pastor and zoologist, had written several essays on the marine fauna off Norway's coasts. By dredging in Norwegian fjords, he had proven that animal life still exists even in depths that can no longer be reached by sunlight. Inspired by this, the Briton Charles Wyville Thomson carried out the first deep-sea dredges in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean with the ships HMS Lightning (1868) and HMS Porcupine (1869 and 1870) . In 1872 he set off on a large-scale deep-sea expedition with the HMS Challenger , which took him around the world within four years.
preparation
On March 19, 1874, the meteorologist and oceanographer Henrik Mohn and Michael Sars' son, the zoologist Georg Ossian Sars , wrote to the Norwegian government with a memorandum. They explained how little science knew about the European Arctic Ocean off the Norwegian coast, although this was of great importance for the climate in Norway and, above all, for fish migration in the Norwegian coastal waters. They therefore proposed a maritime expedition which, in the summer months for three consecutive years, systematically selected measuring stations to determine the depth, temperature, chemical composition of seawater, prevailing currents on the surface and in the depth, the geology of the seabed, meteorological and magnetic phenomena as well should capture the occurring animals and plants.
The initiative fell on fertile ground in Norwegian society. Politicians saw the expedition as a way of defining what was considered Norwegian territorial waters . Support also came from the fishing industry and scientific organizations.
The costs for the expedition including those for building a research ship were estimated at 61,500 speciedaler . The Norwegian parliament , the Storting , initially approved only 20,000 speciedaler and decided that a ship could be chartered seasonally. In 1876, however, another 14,500 speciedaler were released and in 1877 another 28,327, so that the originally estimated sum was even slightly exceeded. Carl Fredrik Wille (1830–1913), who had experience with depth sounding, was appointed as the captain . He immediately traveled to England to seek advice from Captain George Nares , who had commanded the Challenger during her first year of voyage and was about to leave for his North Pole expedition with the ships HMS Discovery and HMS Alert . In December 1875, when looking for an expedition ship, the choice fell on the DS Vøringen , a steamship built in 1861 for the Brunchorst & Dekke shipping company , which had its home port in Bergen . In the spring of 1876, the Vøringen was retrofitted with a steam winch to pull up the dredge and - like the Challenger - received a plumbing machine according to Baillie to determine the sea depth.
The scientific staff of the expedition consisted of the two expedition leaders Henrik Mohn and Georg Ossian Sars, the doctor and zoologist Daniel Cornelius Danielssen , director of the Bergen Museum and "father of leprosy research", the businessman and zoologist Herman Friele (1838-1921), who also was connected to the museum, as well as changing chemists: 1876 SM Svendsen, 1877 and 1878 David Hercules Tornøe (1856–1907) and 1878 Ludvig Henrik Benjamin Schmelck (1857–1916). The German landscape painter Franz Wilhelm Schiertz also took part in the trip.
course
1876
On June 1, 1876, the Vøringen left the port of Bergen with the expedition crew on board and headed north towards the Sognefjord . The first time it tried to dredge at the exit of the Esefjord, the dredge was lost. The second attempt also failed because the ship was going too fast and the trawl took off from the bottom. From June 10th to 19th, the expedition stayed on the island of Husøy at the mouth of the Sognefjord and took measurements of the earth's magnetic field . Then we went out to sea for a few days with regular sounding and dredging, until Kristiansund was called on June 23 and coal was stashed. On the way west, the Vøringen caught its first storm. Parts of the bulwark were torn away by the heavy seas and had to be replaced in Tórshavn on the Faroe Islands . During the repair work from July 8-15, scientists went on biological and mineralogical excursions ashore. With continued stormy weather, which did not always allow a trawl to be deployed, it was now in the direction of the Westman Islands south of Iceland , where the ship had to be anchored for a few days under the protection of the island of Heimaey . On July 26th, the Vøringen entered the port of Reykjavík , where the sixth storm held her until the end of the month. Captain Wille used the time for magnetic measurements and the scientists for an excursion to Þingvellir . After a leak in the steam boiler had been repaired, the ship cast off again on August 3. The plan to circumnavigate Iceland was abandoned because the season was now relatively advanced, and the Vøringen left the island along its south coast, then turned northeast and crossed the 65th parallel. On August 8, the greatest depth of 1876 was measured at 3403 m. The Norwegian coast was reached again during a stop and on August 14th they were in Namsos , where the ship stayed for six days, which were used for magnetic measurements. On August 26, the Vøringen entered the port of Bergen again.
1877
The chemist David Hercules Tornøe, who had been briefly prepared for his task by Peter Waage , took the place of SM Svendsen, who was in poor health . Technical problems on the ship delayed the departure so that Bergen could not be left until June 12th. From June 16 to 22, three depth profiles of the Norwegian continental shelf were measured between the 65th and 68th parallel. After a series of temperature measurements in the Vestfjord , the Vøringen Bodø called , where fresh food was brought on board and the chronometers were adjusted. On June 25, the ship crossed the Vestfjord to the island of Røst to take another magnetic measurement. From June 28th, the expedition recorded five more profiles west of the Lofoten Islands and reached Tromsø on July 8th . Captain Wille had the boilers cleaned and examined and took coal and water on board. In the meantime, the zoologists fished with various nets from the boat. On July 14th, the Vøringen - leaving two sick expedition members behind - drove through the Ullsfjord in its tributary Kjosen and then past Fugløya into the open sea. North of the Malangenfjord , the next two profiles were determined from a total of 18 depth soundings. The dredge was pulled across the seabed three times. For July 20 to 24, the expedition returned to Tromsø, took the participants, who had meanwhile been recovered, as well as provisions on board and set out to sea again. The Vøringen steamed westwards at full speed until the island of Jan Mayen emerged from the thick fog on July 28th . A sea depth of 3200 m had been measured on the way. As the waves broke on the east side of the island, Captain Wille circumnavigated the island to the north and anchored in Maria Musch Bay. The next morning, the scientists went ashore to do geological, botanical and zoological work. In addition to some seabirds , three arctic foxes were shot. On July 30th, the dredge was dragged across the bottom of the bay when the wind picked up and it seemed safer to return to the east side of the island. The driftwood bay (Norwegian Rekvedbukta ) near Eggøya was chosen as the new anchorage . On August 1st, the 2277 m high Beerenberg appeared for the first time , which until then had been covered by fog and clouds. Another landing on Jan Mayen was not possible over the next few days due to the choppy sea. The program was therefore limited to depth and temperature measurements as well as dredging trains. On August 3, the Vøringen Jan Mayen left in a southerly direction and two days later swiveled east about halfway between the island and Iceland. On August 7, the greatest depth measured during the entire expedition (3667 m) was recorded at 68 ° 21 'N and 2 ° 5' W. On August 10, the Vøringen steamed back into the Vestfjord with the maelstrom . After the steam boilers had been inspected, the ship sailed for three days in the Skjerstadfjord , where a dredge train brought a particularly rich catch. On August 18th, the Vøringen set course again for Bergen, which was reached on the 23rd.
1878
For the year 1878, the exploration of the waters between the 71st parallel and the northern tip of the island of Spitzbergen was planned, so nothing less than an Arctic expedition. In order to avoid possible problems with the pack ice , the start of the expedition was postponed to mid-June. When the ship weighed anchor in Bergen on June 15, another chemist, Ludvig Schmelck, joined the group of scientists. On June 17, the Vøringen brushed against a rock below the surface of the water and lost parts of her keel shoe. However, since there was no leak and a diver could not discover any serious damage, Captain Wille decided to continue the voyage immediately. After some work in the Vestfjord, the expedition reached Tromsø on June 20 , where the pilot Petter Bjørvik came on board. The journey, during which the nets were again deployed, continued to Alta , where Henrik Mohn visited the meteorological station. Four years later he chose this location for the Norwegian research station as part of the First International Polar Year . On June 22nd and 23rd, the Vøringen anchored in Hammerfest , where fresh water was taken. During the next few days the Porsanger and Tanafjords were explored before the ship called Vardø on June 25th . Two days later the ship sailed into the Barents Sea. Deep sounding and dredging trains were hindered here by a storm. The expedition headed for Bear Island in a curve , where it anchored in the southern harbor. At the nearby Russian hut she left post for the Dutch Arctic expedition led by Antonius de Bruijne (1842–1916) with the schooner Willem Barents . The time until the afternoon was used to shoot birds, collect botanical and geological samples and trigonometrically measure the height of the highest point on the island, the Miseryfjellet . The next few days were spent in depth sounding west and south of the island. On July 8th the Vøringen started again at Hammerfest. Here she was prepared for a further advance to the north, while magnetic and astronomical observations were made in Fuglenes near the meridian stone which marks the end of the Struve arch . From July 13th it measured another depth profile in a westerly direction, swiveled north on the 17th, when the first ice of the East Greenland Current was sighted, and continued its journey at the 75th parallel in an easterly direction to Bear Island, where it merged heavy storm got caught. By July 25, the ship returned to Hammerfest. During the night it was only a few miles past the Vega , anchored off Måsøy , with which Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld was preparing to be the first to cross the Northeast Passage . On July 31, the Vøringen was back on Bear Island and got caught in another storm. The next day the weather calmed down so the scientists could go ashore. On the way to the southern cape of Svalbard, the expedition made a bow to the west, frequently sounding out the sea depth. Arrived at the cape, the Storfjord was threshed and from August 7th the next profile to the west was measured between the 76th and 77th degrees of north latitude until the edge of the ice was reached at half a degree to the west. The trawl net and 4,000 m of rope were lost when dredging at this point. The ship advanced north on the ice edge to 77 ° 50 'N and then steered again to the east. In front of the entrance to the Isfjord it swung to the northwest and finally to the north until it encountered pack ice again on August 14 at the 80th parallel. After the depth had also been measured here and the trawl had been deployed, the Vøringen turned east and headed for the Nordvestøyane , a group of islands off the northwest coast of Svalbard. The ship now sailed south through the Smeerenburgfjord past Amsterdamøya and Danskøya and through the Sørgatt back into the open sea. On August 17th, the Vøringen anchored east of the burial peninsula in the Magdalenefjord . Here at the bottom at a depth of just over 100 m, the lowest water temperature during the entire expedition was measured at –2 ° C. A dredge train in the fjord brought rich booty. Bypassing Prins Karls Forland , the Vøringen reached the Isfjord on August 19th, where the scientists swarmed once more while the naval officers were busy with mapping work. On August 23, the journey home via Tromsø to Bergen began, where most of the scientists disembarked on September 4. Mohn, Sars and Schmelck drove on to Christiania, where the trip ended on September 9th.
Scientific work and results
Scope of research
The North Sea expedition managed an impressive work program. At 375 stations, which span a loose network over the entire European Arctic Ocean, the sea depth was plumbed and samples of the bottom sediment were taken. In the last two years alone, the bottom trawl (dredge) has been deployed 42 times and the pelagic net (trawl) 33 times. In 1877 and 1878, 94 seawater temperature profiles were measured at different depths. Samples of the sea water were regularly analyzed chemically. The program was supplemented by astronomical and geomagnetic investigations as well as regular weather observations. The participating scientists occupied themselves with viewing and describing the collected material for over 20 years.
geography
The deep soundings led to a rough elucidation of the topographical shape of the seabed in the area of the European North Sea. Particular emphasis was placed on the Norwegian continental shelf. Taking measurements from other expeditions, such as the Second German North Polar Expedition from 1869–1870, the German Pommerania Expedition from 1871 and 1872, and British, Danish, Austro-Hungarian, Dutch and Russian expeditions, Henrik Mohn created a bathymetric map of the North Atlantic. On the other side of the continental shelf, the European Arctic Ocean consists of two basins that are separated by a ridge . Poppy calls it the transverse ridge. Today he wears as part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge , the term poppy back .
The expedition also contributed to the geographic exploration and mapping of the Arctic islands of Jan Mayen and Svalbard. Jan Mayen created a new one - based on an older map by William Scoresby - on which a number of geographical objects were identified by the members of the expedition and the expedition ship (e.g. Danielssenkrater, Frielegletscher, Schmelcktal, Vøringenkrater) or personalities of the Polar research (e.g. Weyprecht glacier ) are named. The position of the island was shifted nine miles to the west. The Adventfjord on Svalbard was measured and mapped, at which later its largest place, Longyearbyen, was built. In the Svalbard Archipelago, too, some names are reminiscent of the North Sea expedition.
oceanography
On the basis of the hydrographic data and meteorological values measured on the Norwegian and Icelandic coasts during the expedition, Mohn developed a physical model for the flow conditions in the European Arctic Ocean. He saw the prevailing wind conditions and density differences in the sea, caused by temperature and salinity differences, as the driving force behind the currents . In his model he also included the influence of the earth's rotation . By performing his calculations for different depths, he recorded not only surface currents, but also deep currents. The results of his advanced theoretical approach, however, suffered from the primitive measuring instruments of his time.
zoology
The expedition was successful in clarifying an important question for the Norwegian fishing industry, where the cod, which regularly appears on the coast, came from. The salmon caught off the coast of Svalbard in 1878 contained neither roe nor milk , although the animals were very large. Neither eggs nor larvae of the fish were found. Sars concluded that it was these fish stocks that came to the Norwegian coast to spawn in winter. He managed to create a map of the spawning courses of cod in the eastern North Atlantic and the western Barents Sea. With regard to the Norwegian herring, Sars was able to give a largely correct description of its life cycle following the North Sea expedition.
The Vøringen Expedition also carried out a careful inventory of the deep-sea fauna of the Northern European Sea. A total of about 300 new species have been described. It also complemented the results of the Challenger expedition, which did not travel this part of the world's oceans.
Publication of the scientific results
The results of the expedition were published between 1880 and 1901 under the title Den Norske Nordhavs Expedition 1876–1878 in seven volumes by the Grøndahl publishing house in Christiania. The text is bilingual in Norwegian and English. In addition to the expedition participants, the zoologists Robert Collett (1842–1930), Johan Koren , Gerhard Armauer Hansen , James Alexanderssøn Grieg (1861–1936), Hartvig Huitfeldt-Kaas (1867–1941) and Johan Aschehoug Kiær took part in the processing of the biological findings (1869–1931), Kristine Bonnevie , Johan Hjort and Ole Nordgaard (1862–1931) and the botanist Haaken Hasberg Gran (1870–1955).
Volume 1 (1882) ( digitized - Internet Archive ):
- Carl Fredrik Wille: Historical Account .
- Carl Fredrik Wille: The Apparatus, and how used .
- Henrik Mohn: Astronomical Observations .
- Carl Fredrik Wille: Magnetival Observations .
- Henrik Mohn: Geography and Natural History .
- David Hercules Tornøe: Chemistry. 1. On the Air in Sea-water, 2. On the Carbonic Acid in Sea-water, 3. On the Amount of Salt in the Water of the Norwegian Sea .
- Ludvig Schmelck: Chemistry. 1. On the Solid Matter in Sea-water, 2. On Oceanic Deposits .
2nd volume (1887):
- Henrik Mohn: Meteorology ( digitized - Internet Archive ).
- Henrik Mohn: The North-Ocean, Its Depth, Temperature and Circulation ( digitized ).
Volume 3 (1886) ( digitized - Internet Archive ):
- Robert Collett: Zoology, Fishes .
- Gerhard Armauer Hansen: Zoology, Annelida .
- Gerhard Armauer Hansen: Zoology, Spongiadæ .
- Herman Friele: Zoology, Mollusca I, Buccinidae .
- Herman Friele: Zoology, Mollusca II .
4th volume (1884) ( digitized - Internet Archive ):
- Daniel Cornelius Danielssen, Johan Koren: Zoology, Gephyrea .
- Daniel Cornelius Danielssen, Johan Koren: Zoology, Holithurioidea .
- Daniel Cornelius Danielssen, Johan Koren: Zoology, Asteroidea .
- Daniel Cornelius Danielssen, Johan Koren: Zoology, Pennatulida .
5th volume (1893) ( digitized - Internet Archive ):
- Daniel Cornelius Danielssen: Zoology, Alcyonida .
- Daniel Cornelius Danielssen: Zoology, Actinida .
- Daniel Cornelius Danielssen: Zoology, Crinoida .
- Daniel Cornelius Danielssen: Zoology, Echinida .
- James Alexanderssøn Grieg: Zoology, Ophiuroidea .
Volume 6 (1891) ( digitized - Internet Archive ):
- Georg Ossian Sars: Zoology, Crustacea I .
- Georg Ossian Sars: Zoology, Crustacea II .
- Georg Ossian Sars: Zoology, Pycnogonidea .
Volume 7 (1901) ( digitized version - Internet Archive ):
- Hartvig Huitfeldt-Kaas, Kristine Bonnevie, Hans Kiær, Johan Hjort: Zoology, Tunicata .
- Kristine Bonnevie: Zoology, Hydroida .
- Ole Nordgaard: Zoology, Polyzoa .
- Hans Kiær: Zoology, Thalamophora .
- Herman Friele, James Alexanderssøn Grieg: Zoology, Mollusca III .
- Haaken Hasberg Gran: Botany, Protophyta .
literature
- Vera Schwach: Faded glory. The Norwegian Vøringen Expedition, 1876–1878 . In: Keith R. Benson and Helen M. Rozwadowski (eds.): Extremes: Oceanography's Adventures at the Poles , Science History Publications / USA, Sagamore Beach 2007, ISBN 0-88135-373-6 , pp. 31-70 (= Vera Schwach: Til havs med vitenskapen. Fiskerirettet havforskning 1860–1970 , dissertation, University of Oslo, 2011, chapter 2 ).
Web links
- Vidar Bjørnsen: Den norske Nordhavsekspedisjonen on the Norsk Polarhistorie website
- Marit E. Christiansen: Stormfullt hav. The Norske Nordhavs Expedition. 1876–1878 on the website of the Natural History Museum Oslo , February 9, 2009, revised version from February 24, 2012
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Vidar Bjørnsen: Den norske Nordhavsekspedisjonen on the Norsk Polarhistorie website, accessed on August 4, 2015.
- ↑ Eric L. Mills: Mathematics in Neptune's Garden. Making the Physics of the Sea Quantitative, 1876-1900 . In: Helen M. Rozwadowski, David K. Van Keuren (Eds.): The Machine in Neptune's Garden . Science History Publications / USA, Sagamore Beach 2004, ISBN 0-88135-372-8 , pp. 41 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ^ Charles Wyville Thomson: The Depths of the Sea. An Account of the General Results of the Dredging Cruises of HMSS. 'Porcupine' and 'Lightning' during the Summers of 1868, 1869, and 1870, under the scientific direction of Dr. Carpenter, FRS, J. Gwyn Jeffreys, FRS, and Dr. Wyville Thomson, FRS Macmillan, London 1873.
- ^ Carl Fredrik Wille: Historical Account . In: The Norwegian North-Atlantic Expedition 1876–1878 , Volume 1, Grøndahl, Christiania 1882, pp. 1–9 .
- ^ Henrik Mohn: Contributions to the Geography and Natural History of the Northern Regions of Europe, derived from observations made on the Norwegian North-Atlantic Expedition (1876–1878) . Grøndahl, Christiania 1882, p. 18 .
- ↑ Eric L. Mills: Mathematics in Neptune's Garden. Making the Physics of the Sea Quantitative, 1876-1900 . In: Helen M. Rozwadowski, David K. Van Keuren (Eds.): The Machine in Neptune's Garden . Science History Publications / USA, Sagamore Beach 2004, ISBN 0-88135-372-8 , pp. 51 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ^ Helge Drange: The Nordic Seas. An Integrated Perspective Oceanography, Climatology, Biogeochemistry, and Modeling . American Geophysical Union, 2005, ISBN 0-87590-423-8 , pp. 12 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ↑ Arvid Hylen, Odd Nakken, Kjell Nedreaas: Nordeast Arctic cod: fisheries, life history, stock fluctuations and management . In: Odd Nakken (Ed.): Norwegian Spring-spawning Herring & Northeast Arctic Cod. 100 Years of Research Management . Tapir Academic Press, 2008, ISBN 978-82-519-2367-5 , pp. 89 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ↑ Olav Dragesund, Ole Johan Østvedt, Reidar Toresen: Norwegian spring-spawning herring: history of fisheries, biology and stock assessment . In: Odd Nakken (Ed.): Norwegian Spring-spawning Herring & Northeast Arctic Cod. 100 Years of Research Management . Tapir Academic Press, 2008, ISBN 978-82-519-2367-5 , pp. 53 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- ↑ Marit E. Christiansen: hav Stormfullt. The Norske Nordhavs Expedition. 1876–1878 on the website of the Natural History Museum Oslo , February 9, 2009, revised version from February 24, 2012, accessed on August 3, 2015.