Sir james clark ross had obtained a sounding of over 2, 400 fathoms in 1839, but it was not until of deep soundings was obtained in the atlantic and the first samples were collected by dredging the bottom 1839年,詹姆斯.克拉克.罗斯爵士曾测得海水深度超过2,400英寻;但直到1869年,皇家学会用英国“豪猪”号舰艇进行了几次巡航后,才在大西洋测得一个海水深度,同时能过挖掘海底,取得了研究海底的首批样品。