Abstract
ON November 1, the Danish research vessel Atlantide left Plymouth en route for the coast of West Africa. The ship left Copenhagen on October 3 and, after being held up by bad weather, reached Plymouth on October 30. The vessel, a three-masted schooner which once sailed under the well-known name of Shenandoah, is owned by the Danish sculptor, Mr. Viggo Jarl, who has lent her to the Danish Government for marine research and is paying all expenses. Dr. Anton Fr. Bruun of the Copenhagen University Museum, who has made many cruises in the Dana, is leading the expedition; he has with him two young Danish zoologists, Jorgen Knudsen of the Royal Danish Veterinary College, and Torben Wolff. The British Museum (Natural History) is represented by Dr. F. C. Fraser, and the vessel will pick up Dr. G. R. Howat, Government chemist, at Accra. The route to be followed covers the whole of the coast of West Africa to the Cape, and includes the Ascension Islands and St. Helena. The expedition is intended primarily to make a zoogeographical survey along that coast. Sections will be made outwards from the coast to deep water at intervals, the main region of interesi lying between the Congo and Walfisch Bay, an area from which little collecting has been done. The vessel is equipped for collecting with Petersen and Feen grabs, shrimp trawls and plankton nets of various sizes; she also carries a small harpoon gun. The voyage is expected to last about eight months, and it is hoped that much valuable material will be collected for the Danish and British Museums. This is the first marine expedition to leave the coasts of Europe since the War ended, and the Danes are to be congratulated on acting so promptly in starting the exploration of the sea once more.
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Danish Research Expedition. Nature 156, 565 (1945). https://doi.org/10.1038/156565c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/156565c0