Exploration of the Deep Sea

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Abstract
Few aspects of geography are more satisfying than to follow the progress of geographical discovery across the oceans from the documents that remain to us, and the careful work of many scholars allows us to find some of the excitement of the early voyages without much effort to ourselves. But geographical exploration was only the first phase, and during the past 300 years much effort has been spent in finding out something about the oceans themselves: as early as 1698 Halley sailed as far as S. 52° on a purely scientific voyage, returning with useful information about magnetic variation and the trade winds. The promoters of the scientific voyage of H.M.S. Challenger argued that the vast oceans lie scientifically unexplored, and we say much the same today; but much has been done and in its way it provides a story as interesting as that of geographical discovery.