The German Meteor expedition (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

: ''Deutsche Atlantik Expedition'') was an

oceanographic Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...

expedition that explored the

South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

ocean from the equatorial region to

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

in 1925–1927. Depth soundings, water temperature studies, water samples, studies of marine life and atmospheric observations were conducted.Stein

Expedition

The survey vessel left

Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsh ...

on 16 April 1925 with the

oceanographer Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...

Alfred Merz in charge of the expedition.Nieder and Schroeder DAE Reiseplan orig

The ship zigzagged between

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

and took

echo sounding Echo sounding or depth sounding is the use of sonar for ranging, normally to determine the depth of water (bathymetry). It involves transmitting acoustic waves into water and recording the time interval between emission and return of a pulse; ...

s of the South Atlantic between 20° North and 60° South. In January 1926 the Strait of Magellan was transited; in March the same year a seamount was found and named ''Meteor Bank'' (). In June 1926 Merz, who already had health problems before the start of the expedition, was hospitalised at the German Hospital in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. He died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

on 25 August 1926. The overall lead of the expedition was assumed by the ship's captain Fritz Spieß, while Georg Wüst became chief oceanographer. The expedition returned to Wilhelmshaven on 2 June 1927. In the course of the venture 67,000 depth soundings were made, more than were sailed and more than 800 weather balloons were launched.

Results

The Meteor of the German Meteor expedition

''Meteor'' was equipped with early

sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect objects on o ...

equipment with which it produced the first detailed survey of the south Atlantic Ocean floor. The survey established that the

mid-Atlantic ridge The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge (a divergent or constructive plate boundary) located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and part of the longest mountain range in the world. In the North Atlantic, the ridge separates the North ...

was continuous through the South Atlantic and continued into the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

beyond the Cape of Good Hope.

References

Sources

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External links

Images
at NOAA {{Authority control Oceanographic expeditions Atlantic expeditions Expeditions from Germany 1920s in Antarctica 1920s in science