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Antarctic Exploration:
d'Urville
Jules-Sébastien-César Dumont d'Urville left France with two ships, the Astrolabe and the Zélée, in 1837, hoping to reach the South Magnetic Pole. He was instructed to sail as far south as the ice permitted. He followed Weddell's route, but in January 1838 his ships were blocked by the Weddell Sea ice shelf. He was forced to turn northwards, but in February was able to sail south again. At one stage the sea ice closed in behind the ships, trapping them.
Many of the crew were suffering from scurvy, a disease caused by a lack of vitamin C, so the expedition headed for Chile to recover. From May 1938 the ships explored the South Pacific, until October 1939 when they landed in Hobart. d'Urville began his third attempt to sail to Antarctica, and in January 1840, land was sighted.
A
group of officers and crew took off in two small boats, and landed
on a small island just off the coast. They found some rock, which
proved they were on land and not on an iceberg. They claimed it
for France. d'Urville named it Adelie, after his wife. The penguins
found there are now known as Adelie penguins. The sea at this
point is named the Dumont d'Urville Sea.
If you use any part of
this, acknowledge it in your bibliography like this:
Antarctica
(2001).
[Online], Available: www.kidcyber.com.au
Updated June 2002