Research expedition
The
French Antarctic Expedition
is any of several
French
expeditions in
Antarctica
.
1837?1840
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In 1837, during an 1837?1840
expedition
across the deep southern hemisphere, Captain
Jules Dumont d'Urville
sailed his ship
Astrolabe
along a coastal area of Antarctica which he later named
Adelie Land
, in honor of his wife. During the Antarctic part of this expedition, Dumont d'Urville team performed the first experiments to determine the approximate position of the
South magnetic pole
, and landed on
Debarquement Rock
in the
Geologie Archipelago
, (
66°36′19″S
140°4′0″E
/
66.60528°S 140.06667°E
/
-66.60528; 140.06667
) just 4 km from the mainland, where he took mineral and animal samples. On his return to France in 1840 he was made
rear admiral
.
1904?1907
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Jean-Baptiste Charcot
was appointed leader of a 1904?1907 French Antarctic Expedition, aboard the ship
Francais
, exploring the west coast of
Graham Land
portion of the
Antarctic Peninsula
. The expedition reached
Adelaide Island
in 1905 and took pictures of the
Palmer Archipelago
and
Loubet Coast
.
They roughly surveyed, the SW coast of
Anvers Island
in 1904. They gave the name "Presqu'ile de Biscoe" to a small peninsula on the SE side of
Biscoe Bay
, adding to the honours for
John Biscoe
? who may have landed in the vicinity in 1832. While the name "Presqu'ile de Biscoe" has not endured, the resurvey by the
Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey
in 1955 named
Biscoe Point
for the rocky point found in the approximate location of Charcot's Presqu'ile.
Loubet Land
was explored in January 1905 and named after
Emile Loubet
, then
President of France
.
Rabot Island
was first charted by the expedition and named after
Charles Rabot
.
They mapped
Watkins Island
but did not name it. They also charted
Arthur Harbour
.
Mount Francais (
64°38′S
63°27′W
/
64.633°S 63.450°W
/
-64.633; -63.450
) in the
Trojan Range
was named after the expedition ship
Francais
.
Lavoisier Island
was named 'Ile Nansen' after
Fridtjof Nansen
, Norwegian Arctic explorer. The name was changed in 1960 to avoid confusion with nearby
Nansen Island
, so named in 1898 by a
Belgian expedition
.
Bonaparte Point
(
64°47′S
64°05′W
/
64.783°S 64.083°W
/
-64.783; -64.083
) was charted and named for Prince
Roland Bonaparte
, then President of the
Paris Geographical Society
.
Logistics support for this expedition was provided by the
Argentine Navy
(
Armada de la Republica Argentina
), employing the legendary corvette
ARA
Uruguay
.
1908?1911
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Within a year of returning from the Second Expedition, Charcot commanded a new expedition from 1908 to 1911. Sailing on the ship
Pourquoi-Pas? IV
(Why Not? IV), the expedition explored the
Bellingshausen Sea
, the
Amundsen Sea
, and discovered, charted and named several features.
Loubet Land
was named for
Emile Loubet
, the
President of France
during Charcot's earlier expedition.
Charcot Island
was named for the Captain himself.
The expedition moored aboard ship in a cove on the southeast side of
Petermann Island
, which they named
Port Circumcision
because it was spotted 1 January 1909, the traditional day for the
Feast of the Circumcision
.
Renaud Island
was first charted and named.
Fallieres Coast
was first explored in January 1909, and Charcot named for
Clement Armand Fallieres
, then President of France.
Mikkelsen Bay
was first seen from a distance in 1909, but it was not recognised as a bay. The
Mikkelsen Islands
were named after Otto Mikkelsen, a Norwegian diver who inspected the damaged hull of the Pourquoi-Pas at
Deception Island
.
Marguerite Bay
was discovered in 1909 and Charcot named the bay after his wife.
Jenny Island
, in Marguerite Bay, was discovered and named by Charcot for the wife of Sub-Lieutenant Maurice Bongrain, second officer of the expedition.
The name "Pavie" was given in 1909 to an island, or possible cape, shown on the expedition's maps at
68°27′S
66°40′W
/
68.450°S 66.667°W
/
-68.450; -66.667
. Viewed from a position some 15 to 17 miles southeast of Jenny Island, expedition surveyor Maurice Bongrain made sketches of this feature which were labeled both "Ile Pavie" and "Cap Pavie". The area later became known as
Pavie Ridge
.
Adelaide Island
was first surveyed by the expedition. They also discovered
Millerand Island
, which was likely named for
Alexandre Millerand
, French statesman.
Douglas Range
was seen from a distance.
Rothschild Island
was named after
Baron Edouard Alphonse de Rothschild
(1868?1949), head of the French branch of the
Rothschild family
and president of the Rothschild Brothers bank.
The northern portion of
Wilkins Sound
was first seen and roughly mapped in 1910 by the expedition.
1948?1949
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This aborted expedition was led by Andre-Frank Liotard in 1948?1949. With a total of 62 members, 30 dogs, and 200 tons of equipment aboard
Commandant Charcot
, it was planned to leave a party of eleven in
Adelie Land
, where a base was to be constructed.
But, with heavy ice pack in February 1949, the ship could never reach the Antarctic coast (southernmost point: latitude 66°11', an estimated 45 miles from the coastline).
On their return trip from Antarctica, a party was briefly landed on 3 March 1949 on
Sabrina Island
, one of the
Balleny Islands
.
The expedition also visited the newly-established Australian base of
Macquarie Island
, where they made a depot of 7,000 L fuel.
[5]
1949?1951
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Andre-Frank Liotard returned to Adelie Land in 1949?1951, again aboard
Commandant Charcot
. Eleven of the expedition party and 28 dogs were put ashore, and
Port Martin Station
was established some 60 km to the west of
Cape Denison
where
Douglas Mawson
had wintered 40 years before.
[6]
The party spent a full year doing weather and astronomical research.
[7]
The expedition charted and named
Francais Glacier Tongue
,
Ionosphere Bay
and
Parasite Bay
, among others.
1950?1952
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In 1950?1952, Michel Barre led a party of seventeen that wintered at
Port Martin
.
1951?1953
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Two parties were planned to winter in Adelie Land in 1952: one in Port Martin under the leadership of Rene Garcia; the other in a hut to be erected in the
Geologie Archipelago
, some 65 km to the west of Port Martin, where an
Emperor penguin
rookery
had been discovered by the 1949?1951 expedition. A fire destroyed
Port Martin
on 23 January 1952 on the eve the ship
Tottan
left, and the expedition main party had to re-embark. A small group of seven men decided however to be put ashore at
Pointe Geologie
, where they wintered under the leadership of Mario Marret.
They were relieved in early 1953.
This marks the end of French winterings in Adelie Land before the permanent
Dumont d'Urville Station
was established in 1956 on
Petrel Island
, replacing the old base built there in 1952.
Numbering
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The
French Polar Expeditions
, which have carried out logistics in
Adelie Land
as of 1948, have adopted a numbering that leaves out
Jean-Baptiste Charcot
's two voyages of exploration because they do not concern Adelie Land. Thus, they refer to the 1837?1840 expedition as "
TA 1
" ("TA" is for: "Terre Adelie", Adelie Land in French), while the 1951?1953 expedition is "
TA 5
". The next expedition in 1956 is "
TA 6
".
See also
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Bibliography
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- Dubard, Pierre; Bayle, Luc-Marie (1951).
Le "Charcot" et la Terre Adelie
(in French). Paris: Editions France Empire.
- Barre, Michel (1994) [1st pub. 1953, Paris: Rene Julliard].
Blizzard: Terre Adelie 1951
(in French). Rennes: Editions Ouest-France.
ISBN
978-2-7373-1657-9
.
Notes and references
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External links
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