Roald Amundsen's Arctic research role in the development of Geophysics: the case of the 1903-1906 expedition

Abstract

The paper discusses Roald Amundsen’s discoveries in the sphere of knowledge about the Earth’s magnetic field, made during the Arctic expedition of 1903-1906. A historical overview of previous discoveries made by scientists in the process of studying Geomagnetism is given. The research is based on the study and analysis of R. Amundsen’s memoirs about the expedition. The authors consistently consider the stages of the expedition along the Northwest passage in 1903-1906 and its results. The significance of the geomagnetic characteristics obtained in this expedition is shown. Attention is paid to the phenomenon of magnetic poles drift, and the process of its discovery is described in detail. Amundsen’s discovery of magnetic drift gave an invaluable impetus for further Geomagnetism development, which is also briefly considered. Observations made by Roald Amundsen helped to take a new look at the existing scientific picture of the world, to challenge the traditional model of the Earth structure and to construct a new and, in many ways, revolutionary scheme. As a result of the research, the authors of the paper come to the conclusion that the expedition of 1903-1906 is one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs of that time, also in the sphere of Geophysics. Scientists processed the recorded characteristics of the magnetic field in the Arctic until the 30s of the 20th century. This huge flow of data allowed to supplement the existing maps with magnetic declination and inclination readings in the studied area, and thus to simplify further development of the Arctic region.