Danish Expedition Research Articles

Lauge Koch's expeditions to east Greenland, 1926 to 1958

The early exploration of east Greenland between lats. 70° N. and 82° N. was the work of several nations, and Danish, Swedish, German and British expeditions all played their parts in it. In the last three decades, however, although other groups have made valuable contributions, the expeditions under the leadership of Lauge Koch have been of paramount importance by virtue of the large numbers of scientists involved, the range of the studies, and, in particular, the continuity of effort. This continuity has enabled an unusual degree of foresight and planning to be applied to the operations. Even in these more favoured circumstances, however, “greater results might possibly have been obtained if the means had been ensured beforehand, so that the work could have been planned for a longer period of years at a time”. It has been the policy to concentrate on geological survey as the basic scientific inquiry in this uninhabited, almost virgin, territory. This emphasis on geology has, in turn, stressed the need for detailed geographical information, and stimulated topographical survey to produce an adequate coverage of medium-scale maps for a large part of the region. Other fields have not been overlooked, and biologists—studying the fauna and flora of both land and sea—meteorologists, glaciologists, hydrographers, and archaeologists have been included in the parties.

The British North Greenland Expedition

The story which I have to tell concerns the activities of thirty young scientists and members of the Services during two years, from 1952 to 1954. There were twenty-five of us in Greenland during the first year. By half-time some of the scientists had completed their work and were relieved by others from home. Sixteen of us continued for the full two years in Greenland. Greenland is about the size of western Europe; it is a sub-continent, or the world's biggest island, whichever way you like to look at it. Nine-tenths of it is covered by ice; Greenland is in fact a gigantic basin of ice, 9000-10,000 feet thick in some parts, the centre of the ice sheet rising to about 10,000 feet above sea level and the floor of the basin we know to be at least 600 feet below sea level in some places. The ice overflows through the broken rim and forces its way down through gaps in the mountains to the coast in a series of great glaciers. Nearly all the native in? habitants are settled on the west coast, where a warm sea current takes the chill off the climate. The north-east coast near where we were based is much less accessible; it is guarded from the sea by a belt of pack ice which may be as much as 100 miles wide, and to force a way through the east Greenland pack is difficult and dangerous, even in the specially built ship which is necessary. It is rather a sad reflection to me, being a sailor, that the Royal Navy has no ships at the moment which are capable of penetrating that ice, and there are only two British ships in all which are able to do so. Apart from these, any British Polar expedition going north or south has to charter a foreign ship. The story of our expedition is rather a rambling one. Except during the winter we had five or six different parties in the field at once, all doing different jobs in different parts of the country, and never from start to finish were we all together under one roof. That is the nature of modern scientific expeditions. But our vary? ing activities were joined together by a common thread: we wanted to know just what the northern half of Greenland consisted of and what was the nature of its rocks; how thick was the ice sheet, what were the climatic conditions which allowed this curious relic of the Ice Age to exist, and what has happened to the land surface beneath its crushing weight. We also wanted to know how the human body adjusts itself to such climatic conditions. Another object of the expedition was to gain experience of living and travelling in the Arctic, and to learn how best aircraft and vehicles might be used for polar exploration; experience which might be of value to the armed Services. And it was also our desire to make some further contribution to polar exploration, to that continuing adventure which, during the last two centuries or more, has played its own distinctive part in our country's traditions. In the summer of 1950 I went as a guest of the Danish Expedition to Peary Land

Crossing North Peary Land in Summer 1953

Description of a traverse on foot made by the writer and F. Muller, Aug. 2-12, 1953, during the Danish Expedition to East Greenland, led by Lauge Koch. Starting from the head of Frigg Fjord at approx. 83 09 N. 35 W. they traveled north to the Arctic Ocean and east to Kap Morris Jesup at 83 39 N, 34 17 W Observations were made on geology, fauna, flora, and weather conditions. On the arctic coast (about 700 km from the North Pole) a closed moss vegetation and about 20 different higher plants were found. Brief summary of the geology is given. A more detailed report on the trip and observations is AB. No. 39873.

The third Danish expedition to Central Asia: Its work in the Himalayas

The third Danish expedition to Central Asia: Its work in the Himalayas

The third Danish expedition to central Asia 1948–53

The third Danish expedition to central Asia 1948–53

Danish expeditions to West Greenland, 1950

Danish expeditions to West Greenland, 1950

The Danish Expedition to Peary Land, 1947-49

The Danish Expedition to Peary Land, 1947-49

The Danish Expedition to Peary Land, 1947-49: Discussion

The Danish Expedition to Peary Land, 1947-49: Discussion

Danish Expedition to Peary Land, 1947-1950

U NTIL recently, Peary Land, the northernmost part of Greenland and the northernmost land in the world, has remained an impregnable fort, protected to the south by the inland ice and along the coasts by a belt of pack ice that to date no ship has been able to force. Expeditions traveled by sledge, starting from Thule or Danmarks Havn. The journeys were long and strenuous; a prolonged stay was out of the question; and it was impossible to make any sizable geological or archeological collection. Further exploration has been made possible through the combined use of the airplane and the dog sledge. The first explorer to enter Peary Land was Lockwood in I882, but it was Peary who more closely explored the area on his expeditions of i892, i895, and I900. In I906-I908 the Danish Danmark expedition, under the leadership of Mylius-Erichsen, explored southern and eastern Peary Land. Among other things, it was proved that the country was not an island, as Peary had supposed, but part of Greenland itself Later, Knud Rasmussen's first and second Thule expeditions visited Peary Land, and in I92I Lauge Koch went around it by dog sledge and crossed the inland ice back to Thule. His survey work together with that of the Danmark expedition formed the basis of the great map covering North Greenland, scale I :300,000, published by the Geodetic Institute of Denmark. In I933 and I937 Lauge Koch saw the area from the air. The objective of the Danish Peary Land Expedition of I947-I950, initiated by Ebbe Munck and Eigil Knuth, was a geographical, geological, biological, and archeological exploration of the area. In the summer of I947 a reconnaissance party was sent out to find a suitable place for the winter station, to test the equipment, and so on; it had at its disposal two ships and a Catalina flying boat. A south base was established at Zachenberg, at the head of Young Sund, from which the flights to the north could take off. The first flight was made on July 27. It was found that Jorgen Br6nlunds Fjord, a small side branch of Independence Fjord, was ice-free; in Independence Fjord itself the unbroken winter ice made landing impossible. On July 30 the first party of scientists, under the leadership of Eigil Knuth, were landed at Br6nlunds Fjord; during their two weeks' stay they made a temporary

Hans Nielsen, 1898-1951

Hans Nielsen, formerly colony manager at Thule, northwest Greenland, was killed in a traffic accident in Copenhagen on 4 September 1951. Hans Rudolf Johannes Emil Nielsen was born in the village of Qaersut, Umanak district, west Greenland, on 19 March 1898. When he had completed his education in Denmark, his relative and close friend, Dr. Knud Rasmussen, put him in charge of the trading post at Thule, where he served for more than twenty years. Hans Nielsen's work in Thule has been of immeasurable importance to the Eskimo population of the district. His unfailing sense of justice and fairness gave him undisputed authority both among white men and among natives. He was thereby able to keep up the morale of the Eskimo by preserving the most valuable of the old tribal customs and to enlist their full cooperation in the enforcement of the game laws, a matter of vital importance after the introduction of firearms. As long as Hans Nielsen was in Thule, the natives were spared most of the difficulties that ordinarily beset primitive people on their first contact with Western civilization. Many Danish, American, and British expeditions, which visited Thule between the two World Wars, have enjoyed the boundless hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. Nielsen. Hans Nielsen was a practical man with a thorough knowledge of his district, and his advice has saved many an inexperienced traveler from difficulties, if not from disaster. In 1941 Hans Nielsen left Thule to accept a position as colony manager in Egedesminde, and later moved to Godhavn. A few months before his death he had retired because of failing health and had planned to settle in Denmark. Hans Nielsen is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter, and by his mother, who after the death of her first husband married Dr. Alfred Bertelsen, Medical Counselor to the Greenland Administration.

Botanical Investigations in Southwest Greenland, 1946

Contains brief account of a four-man Danish expedition into the regions of Arsuk Fjord, Godthaab, and Sondre Stromfjord, collecting various groups of land and fresh-water plants and studying ecological conditions. Bibliography (7 items).

Danish expeditions to West Greenland, 1949

Danish expeditions to West Greenland, 1949

Danish deep-sea expedition

Danish deep-sea expedition

Proposed Danish deep-sea expedition

Proposed Danish deep-sea expedition

Danish expeditions to Greenland, 1946–17 and 1948

Danish expeditions to Greenland, 1946–17 and 1948

A Parasitic Flea Larva

IT is well known that the larvae of fleas live in the nests, or resting environment, of the mammals or birds on the blood of which the adults feed. One of us (H. M.) has found flea larvae living in the fur of the Arctic hare (Lepus arcticus groenlandicus Rhoads) in East Greenland. During a Danish expedition in 1932–33, to Eskimonaes, Christian X Land, forty Arctic hares were examined for parasites. Fleas were found on thirty-nine of these and flea larvae on seven—on four in considerable numbers. It is possible that larvae were present on others, because, after they were first noticed, every hare examined was found to carry them. The adults examined were all Hoplopsyllus glacialis glacialis Tasch. This is the only species which has been recorded for the Arctic hare, on which it appears to be a regular parasite throughout its range1, and the larvae may be presumed to belong to the same species.

Danish North-East Greenland Expedition, 1938–39, and subsequent work at the Mørkefjord Station, 1939–42

Danish North-East Greenland Expedition, 1938–39, and subsequent work at the Mørkefjord Station, 1939–42

The Sixth and Seventh Thule Expeditions of Knud Rasmussen

DR. KNUD RASMUSSEN called Thule Expeditions those which were fully or partially supported by the funds of his Thule settlement in the Cape York District. Of these the Fifth, the investigation of the NorthAmerican Eskimo and the long journey from Greenland to Siberia, is the most well known. The Sixth and Seventh Thule Expeditions were to the East Coast of Greenland, during the years I93I, 1932, and 1933, which years cover the period of intense interest in the East Coast arising from the dispute between Norway and Denmark, in which judgment was given at the Hague in April 1933. The Sixth Thule Expedition was rather a reconnaissance than an expedition in itself. The coast of south-east Greenland had been traversed by Commander Gustav Holm in 1884 in an umiak, or large skin boat; in 193 I1, conscious of changing ice conditions, it occurred independently to Knud Rasmussen and Watkins to challenge the still generally accepted notion that the umiak was the only means by which a passage along this coast could be successfully forced. Both therefore attempted the passage in small craft equipped with power. This was in Watkins' case an open boat with an outboard motor. The outfit retained the advantage of the umiak, that the boat could be hauled up on to an ice-floe in case of a squeeze. Knud Rasmussen neither retained this advantage nor had he such good acquaintance with the ice conditions; but in his Norwegian skerry-racer, teak built, extra strengthened and renamed Dagmar, he had a craft larger, faster, and utterly seaworthy. With the Dagmar a quick voyage was made from Julianehaab to Angmagssalik and back, at the same time as Watkins, Courtauld, and Lemon were working southwards along the coast. Nevertheless the Danes were unable to make any contact with Watkins, although the investigation of harbour facilities and the search for Eskimo remains took them into most of the fjords and bays. A less pleasant incident on the return voyage was that during a heavy September storm the Dagmar, rudderless, was blown out into Denmark Strait (where, as usual, a heavy sea was running) so far that it was afterwards twenty hours steaming at full speed before Greenland was in sight again. When, later, she was safely in Nanortalik in south-west Greenland and Watkins was still unreported, Knud Rasmussen went out on a search trip, but returned unsuccessfully. Then, as is well known, half an hour later Watkins came in on the last pint of petrol. The success of the reconnaissance and the awakened public interest in East Greenland encouraged Dr. Rasmussen to begin the much more ambitious Seventh Thule Expedition in I932. But the fact that two other Danish expeditions were working in the same year on the East Coast of Greenland, one of them a large expedition to which the resources of Denmark's richest scientific fund had already been promised, made the financing of the project so difficult that even Knud Rasmussen was at one time disheartened nearly to despair. However the expedition sailed at the right time with a strong staff

The Danish Three-Year Expedition to King Christian X Land

IN 193I a plan was laid for a three-year investigation of central East Greenland, now known as King Christian X Land.' The expedition was organized with three main objects in view: the mapping of the area between latitudes 70? and 77? N., geological fieldwork for the purpose of elucidating many regional problems of broad interest, and an inquiry into the ability of the region to support an Eskimo population. The work of the expedition falls into two sharply separated divisions-winter work, from the beginning of September to the middle of June, and summer work, during the rest of the year. The winter work is carried on from three stations, in wireless communication with one another and with Denmark. The stations are furnished with motor boats, for use after the ships have left in the autumn and before they arrive in the early summer, and each station has also at its disposal several dog teams and four Greenlanders to act as drivers. The summer work is carried on from the steamers Gustav Holm and Godthaab, both fitted to carry a seaplane, and from fifteen motor boats, some of which are equipped with wireless. The Godthaab is further equipped with an echo-sounding machine and several instruments for hydrographic and marine-biological work. The numbers of the personnel in the field may be summarily stated thus: summer of 1931, 62; winter of 1931-1932, 16; summer of 1932, 95; winter of 1932-1933, I9; summer of 1933, Io9; winter of 1933-1934, I2. A resume of the typical weather throughout the year will make clear the nature of the conditions under which the divisions of the expedition operate.

The Form and Age of the Greenland Ice Cap

The first crossing of the Greenland Ice Cap by Fridjof Nansen in 1888 had shown that the southern part was a flattened dome rising to a height of 2,720 m. Crossings in 1912 by the Danish expedition of J. P. Koch and A. Wegener and by a Swiss expedition under de Quervain proved that there was a northern culmination, reaching to a height of at least 3,000 m., which was separated by a saddle of about 2,500 m. from the southern culmination traversed by Nansen. The form of the Ice Cap determined by these three crossings and by other expeditions near its margin of Rink, Jensen, Baron Nordenskiold, Peary, Gaarde, Mikkelsen, Rasmussen, and L. Koch, has been summarized in sketchmaps by L. Koch (1923) and de Quervain (1925). In the year 1930–31 several expeditions were simultaneously making further contributions to our knowledge of the Greenland Ice Cap. (See Fig. 1.)