Question

Which was the first successful worldwide deep-sea expedition?

• A. 1872-76 Challenger British Expedition
• B. 1930 Bathysphere
• C. 1960 Bathyscaphe Trieste
• D. 1850 Near the Lofoten, Michael Sars dredging expedition

Answer 1

The correct option is A 1872-76 Challenger British Expedition

MS Challenger expedition (1872 – 1876) set out to discover what lay beneath the surface of the world’s oceans. Prior to this voyage, the small amount of knowledge about the ocean floor came from information gathered by the Navy. However, after the first submarine telegraph cable was successfully laid across the English Channel in 1851, governments and cable companies quickly realised that much more knowledge about the seafloor was needed. The new boom in telegraph communication meant that knowledge of the seafloor environment was vital to ensure that expensive communication cables could be laid down safely, without the risk of them being broken or lost.