FORMER EXPEDITIONS 



In some respects the Red Sea is like other tropical seas, but 

 many of its physical and biological characteristics distinguish 

 it sharply from any other sea in the world. Because of this 

 and because of its geographical position it became, shortly 

 after the building of the Suez Canal, the object of study and 

 research by expeditions from a number of European 

 countries. 



Among the first hydrological and physico-biological 

 research expeditions were those of the Royal Ship Scilla of 

 the Italian Navy, which operated in the region of the Channel 

 of Massawa and the Dahlak Islands from 1891 to 1895, when 

 its work was interrupted by the first Ethiopian war. Imme- 

 diately after this, from 1895 to 1897, the Austrian ship Pola 

 conducted exploration of great thalassographic importance. 

 In 1903 the Italian Navy carried out thalassographic and 

 biological research with the RS Staffetta. From 1923 to 1925 

 the Italian Navy, working with the ship Ammiraglio Magnaghi, 

 collected important thalassographic data and returned to 

 Italy with a great quantity of material for study. More 

 recently, the English ship Mahabis conducted a series of 

 investigations chiefly of a hydrological nature. From 1948 to 

 1949 the English yacht Manihine carried out an exclusively 

 biological exploration in the zone of the Gulf of Akaba, and 

 from 1950 to 1 95 1 repeated the exploration along the 

 Sudanese coast. At about the same time Commander Y. 

 Cousteau in his ship Calypso, fitted out with the most modern 

 thalassographic equipment, carried out some important 

 investigations along the coast of Saudi Arabia. 



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