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TheFrench Antarctic Expedition is any of severalFrench expeditions inAntarctica.
In 1837, during an 1837–1840expedition across the deep southern hemisphere, CaptainJules Dumont d'Urville sailed his shipAstrolabe along a coastal area of Antarctica which he later namedAdélie Land, in honor of his wife. During the Antarctic part of this expedition, Dumont d'Urville team performed the first experiments to determine the approximate position of theSouth magnetic pole, and landed onDébarquement Rock in theGéologie Archipelago, (66°36′19″S140°4′0″E / 66.60528°S 140.06667°E /-66.60528; 140.06667) just 4 km from the mainland, where he took mineral and animal samples. On his return to France in 1840 he was maderear admiral.
Jean-Baptiste Charcot was appointed leader of a 1904–1907 French Antarctic Expedition, aboard the shipFrançais, exploring the west coast ofGraham Land portion of theAntarctic Peninsula. The expedition reachedAdelaide Island in 1905 and took pictures of thePalmer Archipelago andLoubet Coast.
They roughly surveyed, the SW coast ofAnvers Island in 1904. They gave the name "Presqu'ile de Biscoe" to a small peninsula on the SE side ofBiscoe Bay, adding to the honours forJohn Biscoe – who may have landed in the vicinity in 1832. While the name "Presqu'ile de Biscoe" has not endured, the resurvey by theFalkland Islands Dependencies Survey in 1955 namedBiscoe Point for the rocky point found in the approximate location of Charcot's Presqu'ile.
Loubet Land was explored in January 1905 and named afterÉmile Loubet, thenPresident of France.
Rabot Island was first charted by the expedition and named afterCharles Rabot.
They mappedWatkins Island but did not name it. They also chartedArthur Harbour.
Mount Francais (64°38′S63°27′W / 64.633°S 63.450°W /-64.633; -63.450) in theTrojan Range was named after the expedition shipFrançais.
Lavoisier Island was named 'Ile Nansen' afterFridtjof Nansen, Norwegian Arctic explorer. The name was changed in 1960 to avoid confusion with nearbyNansen Island, so named in 1898 by aBelgian expedition.
Bonaparte Point (64°47′S64°05′W / 64.783°S 64.083°W /-64.783; -64.083) was charted and named for PrinceRoland Bonaparte, then President of theParis Geographical Society.
Logistics support for this expedition was provided by theArgentine Navy (Armada de la República Argentina), employing the legendary corvetteARAUruguay.
Within a year of returning from the Second Expedition, Charcot commanded a new expedition from 1908 to 1911. Sailing on the shipPourquoi-Pas? IV (Why Not? IV), the expedition explored theBellingshausen Sea, theAmundsen Sea, and discovered, charted and named several features.
Loubet Land was named forÉmile Loubet, thePresident of France during Charcot's earlier expedition.
Charcot Island was named for the Captain himself.
The expedition moored aboard ship in a cove on the southeast side ofPetermann Island, which they namedPort Circumcision because it was spotted 1 January 1909, the traditional day for theFeast of the Circumcision.
Renaud Island was first charted and named.Fallieres Coast was first explored in January 1909, and Charcot named forClément Armand Fallières, then President of France.
Mikkelsen Bay was first seen from a distance in 1909, but it was not recognised as a bay. TheMikkelsen Islands were named after Otto Mikkelsen, a Norwegian diver who inspected the damaged hull of the Pourquoi-Pas atDeception Island.
Marguerite Bay was discovered in 1909 and Charcot named the bay after his wife.Jenny Island, in Marguerite Bay, was discovered and named by Charcot for the wife of Sub-Lieutenant Maurice Bongrain, second officer of the expedition.
The name "Pavie" was given in 1909 to an island, or possible cape, shown on the expedition's maps at68°27′S66°40′W / 68.450°S 66.667°W /-68.450; -66.667. Viewed from a position some 15 to 17 miles southeast of Jenny Island, expedition surveyor Maurice Bongrain made sketches of this feature which were labeled both "Île Pavie" and "Cap Pavie". The area later became known asPavie Ridge.
Adelaide Island was first surveyed by the expedition. They also discoveredMillerand Island, which was likely named forAlexandre Millerand, French statesman.Douglas Range was seen from a distance.
Rothschild Island was named afterBaron Edouard Alphonse de Rothschild (1868–1949), head of the French branch of theRothschild family and president of the Rothschild Brothers bank.
The northern portion ofWilkins Sound was first seen and roughly mapped in 1910 by the expedition.
This aborted expedition was led by André-Frank Liotard in 1948–1949. With a total of 62 members, 30 dogs, and 200 tons of equipment aboardCommandant Charcot, it was planned to leave a party of eleven inAdélie Land, where a base was to be constructed.[1] But, with heavy ice pack in February 1949, the ship could never reach the Antarctic coast (southernmost point: latitude 66°11', an estimated 45 miles from the coastline).[2] On their return trip from Antarctica, a party was briefly landed on 3 March 1949 onSabrina Island, one of theBalleny Islands.[3] The expedition also visited the newly-established Australian base ofMacquarie Island, where they made a depot of 7,000 L fuel.[4][5]
André-Frank Liotard returned to Adélie Land in 1949–1951, again aboardCommandant Charcot. Eleven of the expedition party and 28 dogs were put ashore, andPort Martin Station was established some 60 km to the west ofCape Denison whereDouglas Mawson had wintered 40 years before.[6] The party spent a full year doing weather and astronomical research.[7] The expedition charted and namedFrançais Glacier Tongue,Ionosphere Bay andParasite Bay, among others.
In 1950–1952, Michel Barré led a party of seventeen that wintered atPort Martin.[8]
Two parties were planned to winter in Adélie Land in 1952: one in Port Martin under the leadership of René Garcia; the other in a hut to be erected in theGéologie Archipelago, some 65 km to the west of Port Martin, where anEmperor penguinrookery had been discovered by the 1949–1951 expedition. A fire destroyedPort Martin on 23 January 1952 on the eve the shipTottan left, and the expedition main party had to re-embark. A small group of seven men decided however to be put ashore atPointe Géologie, where they wintered under the leadership of Mario Marret.[9] They were relieved in early 1953.
This marks the end of French winterings in Adélie Land before the permanentDumont d'Urville Station was established in 1956 onPetrel Island, replacing the old base built there in 1952.
TheFrench Polar Expeditions, which have carried out logistics inAdélie Land as of 1948, have adopted a numbering that leaves outJean-Baptiste Charcot's two voyages of exploration because they do not concern Adélie Land. Thus, they refer to the 1837–1840 expedition as "TA 1" ("TA" is for: "Terre Adélie", Adélie Land in French), while the 1951–1953 expedition is "TA 5". The next expedition in 1956 is "TA 6".
