First Arctic Expedition
In 1869, on suggestion from August Petermann, he joined an expedition to the Arctic Sea with the aim to investigate the islands of Spitzbergen and Novaya Zemlya and survey the ocean in their vicinity. Because of adverse ice conditions, only the first destination could be reached. During the course of the expedition, hydrographical measurements were performed and the climatological influence of the Gulf Stream on the eastern coast of Spitzbergen was demonstrated. After returning to his home country in 1870, he joined the German army as a surgeon in time for the Franco-Prussian war. For his military service he received a public commendation from the Grand Duke of Baden.
Read more about this topic: Emil Bessels
Famous quotes containing the words arctic and/or expedition:
“Nature confounds her summer distinctions at this season. The heavens seem to be nearer the earth. The elements are less reserved and distinct. Water turns to ice, rain to snow. The day is but a Scandinavian night. The winter is an arctic summer.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Writing a novel is not merely going on a shopping expedition across the border to an unreal land: it is hours and years spent in the factories, the streets, the cathedrals of the imagination.”
—Janet Frame (b. 1924)