Mørkefjord expedition

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The Mørkefjord expedition of 1938–1939 was sent out by Alf Trolle, Ebbe Munck, and Eigil Knuth in order to continue the work of the Denmark Expedition. [1] It was an exploratory expedition to Northeast Greenland led by Eigil Knuth and had been planned to last from 1938 to 1939. It was affected by the outbreak of World War II.

Count Eigil Knuth was a Danish explorer, archaeologist, sculptor and writer. He is referred to as the Nestor of Danish polar explorers. His archaeological investigations were made in Peary Land and adjacent areas of High Arctic Greenland. Knuth was made a Knight of the Dannebrog.

Greenland Autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark

Greenland is an autonomous constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for more than a millennium. The majority of its residents are Inuit, whose ancestors began migrating from the Canadian mainland in the 13th century, gradually settling across the island.

World War II 1939–1945 global war

World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. The vast majority of the world's countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. A state of total war emerged, directly involving more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. The major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. World War II was the deadliest conflict in human history, marked by 50 to 85 million fatalities, most of whom were civilians in the Soviet Union and China. It included massacres, the genocide of the Holocaust, strategic bombing, premeditated death from starvation and disease, and the only use of nuclear weapons in war.

Contents

History

Morkefjord on the left, Saelsoen on the right 1024 Nordpolausflug- Nordostgronland-05052012217.jpg
Mørkefjord on the left, Sælsøen on the right

There had been a previous expedition to Northeast Greenland led by Johan Peter Koch in 1913; the Mørkefjord Expedition. – which Alfred Wegener had been a part of. [2] Eigil Knuth arrived in Greenland with his co-leader and friend, Ebbe Munck, on 19 June 1938. The other expedition members were botanist Paul Gelting, Alf Trolle, and five more men. The expedition made use of an aircraft – a Tiger Moth. [3]

Johan Peter Koch Danish arctic explorer

Johan Peter Koch was a Danish captain and explorer of the Arctic dependencies of Denmark, born at Vestenskov.

Alfred Wegener German meteorologist, geologist and astronomer

Alfred Lothar Wegener was a German polar researcher, geophysicist and meteorologist.

Paul Emil Elliot Gelting was a Danish ecologist, botanist and lichenologist. He was associate professor at the University of Copenhagen and particularly active in Greenland.

The expedition members began by building a scientific station north of the mouth of the Mørkefjord, west of Hvalrosodden. It was named Mørkefjord Station and was used as a base. The expedition also used a hunting hut in nearby Godfred Hansen Island built by the Nanok East Greenland Fishing Company. [4]

Mørkefjord fjord in Greenland

Mørkefjord, meaning in Danish "The dark fjord," is a fjord in King Frederick VIII Land, northeastern Greenland.

Godfred Hansen Island

Godfred Hansen Island is an uninhabited island of the Greenland Sea, Greenland.

Nanok East Greenland Fishing Company

Nanok East Greenland Fishing Company, generally known as 'Nanok' —meaning "polar bear" in Greenlandic, was a Danish company in Greenland.

Mørkefjord Station was manned for a further two years after the end of the expedition, from 1938 to 1941. The additional two years were for two reasons, first because of the Danish Meteorological Institute having requested a continuation of weather reports and second, because Eigil Knuth, faced with the outbreak of World War II, could not return to Greenland as initially planned and decided to continue the activities of the expedition. The Mørkefjord Expedition would map and name a number of geographic features in East Greenland during the years it operated in the area. The Mørkefjord station is now a ruin. [4]

The Danish Meteorological Institute is the official Danish meteorological institute, administrated by the Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Climate. The institute makes weather forecasts and observations for Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands.

See also

This is a list of recognised pioneering expeditions to Greenland that contributed to the cartography of the territory.

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Seal Lake

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<i>Danmark</i> (1906) Danish arctic expedition ship

The bark Danmark is best known for her role as expedition ship for the Danmark expedition (1906–08), so named after the ship, but had a long prehistory as a whaler under the name Sir Colin Campell of Peterhead and later as a sealer named Magdalena of Tønsberg/Kristiana.

References

  1. ↑ Knuth, E. (1942). Report on the expedition and on subsequent work at the Mørkefjord station. Dansk Nordøstgrønlands ekspedition 1938–1939.
  2. ↑ Mott, T. Greene. (2016). Alfred Wegener: Science, Exploration, and the Theory of Continental Drift. JHU Press. p. 143.
  3. ↑ Laursen, D. (1996). "Eigil Greve Knuth 1903–1996" (PDF). Arctic. Arctic Institute of North America. 49 (4): 401–403. doi:10.14430/arctic1216.
  4. 1 2 "Catalogue of place names in northern East Greenland". Geological Survey of Denmark. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
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