The 1955 Gough Island Scientific Survey was a scientific expedition undertaken in 1955 through 1956 from England to

Gough Island Gough Island ( ), also known historically as Gonçalo Álvares, is a rugged volcanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a dependency of Tristan da Cunha and part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan d ...

in the South Atlantic Ocean. The expedition’s purpose was to study various aspects of the island's flora and fauna and to perform geological and cartographic surveys. It was led by John B. Heaney. The book "Mountains in the Sea" was written by one of the expedition crew about the expedition.

Origins

The expedition started after a suggestion from Dr. B.B. Roberts of the

Scott Polar Research Institute The Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) is a centre for research into the polar regions and glaciology worldwide. It is a sub-department of the Department of Geography in the University of Cambridge, located on Lensfield Road in the south ...

. Other team members were sourced from British universities, except for J.J. van der Merwe of South Africa. Funding came from the Scott Polar Research Institute, the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

, the

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

and others. R.J.H. Chambers took over as leader of the expedition after doctors persuaded John Heaney to remain in England for his health.

Expedition

The expedition sailed from Britain to South Africa, and from there to

Tristan Tristan (Latin/ Brythonic: ''Drustanus''; ; ), also known as Tristran or Tristram and similar names, is the folk hero of the legend of Tristan and Iseult. While escorting the Irish princess Iseult to wed Tristan's uncle, King Mark of ...

. There, they stayed for some time until there was a sufficient weather window. They saw local dances and attempted to summit the mountain. They landed on October 1, 1955. After six weeks they found a weather window to come to Gough. As they attempted landing, R.J.H. Chambers suffered a suspected spinal injury and had to be removed from the expedition and shipped back to Capetown. M. Holdgate then took over as leader of the expedition. On May 13, 1956 the frigate ''Transvaal'' took the remaining expeditionary members off of Gough.

Results

The expedition resulted in a mapping of the internal hills of Gough Island for the first time. As well, at least one species was described which was new to science, '' Joeropsis vibicaria''. The crew also recorded 27 species of ferns and 35 species of flowering plant, as well as 95 invertebrates. They noted one land-based mammal, the

house mouse The house mouse (''Mus musculus'') is a small mammal of the rodent family Muridae, characteristically having a pointed snout, large rounded ears, and a long and almost hairless tail. It is one of the most abundant species of the genus '' Mus''. A ...

, which they concluded was introduced by sealers. The expedition base is now used as a South African Weather Station.

References

{{reflist Scientific expeditions