Weddell Sea

Named after the British sailor James Weddell who entered the sea in 1823, the Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean and is believed to have the clearest water of any sea. Measurements by Dutch researchers in 1986 established visibility to a depth of 262 feet, which is the same as the clarity of distilled water.

In 1950 the historian Thomas Henry described how ships were unable to navigate a path through the Weddell Sea to the coast until 1949, and the treacherous ‘flash freezes’ that left expedition ships such as Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance at the mercy of the ice floes.

“The Weddell Sea is, according to the testimony of all who have sailed through its berg-filled waters, the most treacherous and dismal region on earth. The Ross Sea is the relatively peaceful, predictable, and safe.”   

Thomas R Henry

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