Maud Expedition Records, 1918-1925

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carnegie Institution of Washington

Department of Terrestrial Magnetism Archives

Washington, DC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finding aid written by:

Jennifer Snyder

June 2004

 

 

 

Maud Expedition Records, 1918-1925

 

 

 

Table of Contents

 

 

Maud Expedition Records, 1918-1925

DTM-2004-002

 

Introduction

Abstract: This collection contains geophysical data, computations, reports, and photographs made during the two Arctic voyages of the ship Maud between 1918 and 1925.  Roald Amundsen, polar explorer, commanded the ship and H.U. Sverdrup was in charge of the scientific experiments and observations.  The Carnegie Institution's Department of Terrestrial Magnetism provided instruments and computational aids, and published the expedition's scientific results.

Extent: 5.5 lin. ft..: 2 records center cartons, 2 14”x18” flat storage boxes.

Acquisition: The records of the Maud were created by expedition personnel. It is unknown when these records were transferred to the archives.

 

Access Restrictions: There are no access restrictions to this collection.

Copyright: Copyright is held by the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington. For permission to reproduce or publish please contact the archivist at the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism.

 

Preferred Citation: Maud Expedition Records, 1918-1925, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, D.C.

 

Processing: Processing completed by Jennifer Snyder in July 2004. Original order was not maintained in the processing of this collection.

 

This collection was processed through the generous support of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

 

 

Historical Note

The wooden vessel Maud departed Norway in July, 1918 under the command of polar explorer Roald Amundsen, with the aim of lodging in the ice pack above the Bering Strait and drifting across the Arctic Ocean. The Maud was well equipped with scientific apparatus for making meteorological, geophysical, and oceanographic observations, including geomagnetic instruments and computational aids furnished by the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Terrestrial Magnetism. Meteorologist/oceanographer H. U. Sverdrup was in charge of the expedition’s scientific work. During the next three winters, with the vessel icebound off the Siberian coast, important series of geomagnetic and auroral measurements were made -- but the goal of drifting to the North Pole was unrealized. In August, 1921 the Maud reached Seattle for overhauling and preparations were made for another attempt.

 

During the second phase of the expedition (1922-1925), the Maud was locked in the ice for more than two years and drifted northwest as far as the New Siberian Islands. Once released, the vessel headed eastward under its own power, but the expedition was forced to spend one more winter icebound during 1924-25. Extensive geomagnetic and atmospheric electricity data were collected during the drift and at winter quarters near Bear Island. The Maud finally returned to Nome, Alaska in August, 1925. The geophysical results of the expedition, prepared by Sverdrup, were published by the Carnegie Institution in 1927.

 

 

Scope and Content

This collection contains the scientific records arising from the cruises of the research vessel Maud.

 

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in four series:

Series 1: Data, 1918-1925, n.d.

Series 2: Computations, 1918-1925

Series 3: Reports, 1919, 1922-1925

Series 4: Photographs, 1922-1924

 

Within each series the materials are intellectually arranged by record type, subject, and date.

 

Series 1: Data, 1918-1925, n.d.

This series consists of the scientific observations made by the personnel on board the Maud during their expeditions to the Bering Strait and Arctic Ocean. The data is primarily magnetic observations, though there is one set of atmospheric-electric data. Most of the information is contained in observation cahiers or large unbound notebooks. The cahiers are not foldered within the boxes, but are arranged chronologically.

Series 2: Computations, 1918-1925

This series consists of the computations made from the data collected during the Maud expeditions. The computation notebook from 1920-1921 contains a note which states: “Miscellaneous Astronomical Notes by Dr. Sverdrup.

 

Series 3: Reports, 1919, 1922-1925

This series consists of the reports constructed from the data and computations collected during the Maud expeditions. The Records of Cape Chelyuskin; Atmospheric-electric observations; Aurora investigations, 1919, n.d. includes the following: “Aurora Statistic” paper; various charts and tables, “Results of Astronomic Observations”; and of note is a manuscript in German, “Bemerkungen zu den magnetischen Beobachtungen,” (Comments on the magnetic observations) written by H.U. Sverdrup in 1919. several charts and maps are included in the folder, Aurora Investigations: Observations on the Maud, 1922-1925, 3 September 1926.

 

Series 4: Photographs, 1922-1924

This series consists of 62 photographs taken of the aurora borealis during Maud’s second expedition. The photographs have annotations written on the front and back of each photograph.

 

Folder Listing

	Box	Folder
Series 1: Data, 1918-1925, n.d.
Magnetic Observations, Siberia, 1918-1922 (26 cahiers)	1	--
Magnetic Observations, 1918-1919 (not bound)	1	--
Magnetic Observations, Arctic Sea, 1922-1925 (6 cahiers)	2	--
Magnetic Observation Notebooks, 1 & 2, n.d. (in Norwegian)	1	1
Note and Letter re: Magnetic Records, 1919	1	2
Declination Magnetograms, 24 Nov. 1924-20 May 1925	3	1
Diurnal Variation of Declination and Potential Gradient Tables, 1918-1925	3	2
Atmospheric-Electric Observations, 1922-1925 (3 cahiers)	2	--
Traces (unidentified--2 pkgs), 1919	3	3
Series 2: Computations, 1918-1925
Records of Declination at Cape Chelyuskin, 1918-1919	4	1
Records of Declination at Four-Pillar Island, 1924-1925	4	2
Atmospheric-Electric Computations, 1922-1925	4	3
Computation Notebooks, 1918-1921 (in Norwegian)	1	3
Series 3: Reports, 1919, 1922-1925
Records of Cape Chelyuskin; Atmospheric-Electric Observations; Aurora Investigations, 1919, n.d.	1	4
Aurora Investigations: Observations on the Maud, 1922-1925, 3 September 1926	1	5
Series 4: Photographs, 1922-1924
Photographs of the aurora borealis, 1922-1924	1	6

 

Subject Terms

Topics:           Maud (Ship)

Scientific expeditions--Arctic regions

Scientific expeditions--Siberia (Russia)

Geomagnetism

Auroras

Atmospheric electricity         

 

Corporate Names: Carnegie Institution of Washington. Department of Terrestrial Magnetism.

 

Personal Names:         Sverdrup, H. U. (Harald Ulrik), 1888-1957

Amundsen, Roald, 1872-1928

 

Forms:             Logs (Records)

Calculations   

 

 

 

Bibliography

Sverdrup, H. U., “Magnetic, Atmospheric-Electric, and Auroral Results, Maud Expedition, 1918-1925,” in Land Magnetic and Electric Observations, 1918-1926, pp. 309-524, Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication 175, Vol. VI, Washington, D.C., 1927.

 

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. “Beaufort Gyre Exploration Project: History: The Maud Expedition.”

http://www.whoi.edu/beaufortgyre/history/history_maud.html. Accessed June 30, 2004.

 

 

Related Collections

“Maud Expedition.” Department of Terrestrial Magnetism General Files to 1934. Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C.

 

The photographic records of the Maud expedition are located in the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism’s field photograph collection in album DTM Vol. XX.

 

Ocean Magnetic Survey Records, 1905-1931, 1940-1941, 1945-1946, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, D.C.