The Discovery Investigations were a series of scientific cruises and shore-based investigations into the biology of whales in the Southern Ocean. They were funded by the British Colonial Office and organised by the Discovery Committee in London, which was formed in 1918. They were intended to provide the scientific background to stock management of the commercial Antarctic whale fishery.
Discovery Investigations contributed greatly to knowledge of the whales, the krill they fed on and their habitat's oceanography, while charting the local topography, including Atherton Peak. They continued until 1951, with the final report published in 1980.
Collected specimens are in the Discovery Collections.Skinner, L. (2020). The Mini Monsters. National Maritime Museum Cornwall, 12 February 2020.
Laboratory Shore-based work on South Georgia took place in the marine laboratory, Discovery House, built in 1925 at King Edward Point and occupied until 1931. The scientists lived and worked in the building, travelling half a mile or so across King Edward Cove to the whaling station at Grytviken to work on whales as they were brought ashore by commercial whaling ships.
Ships Vessels used were: RRS Discovery from 1924 to 1931 RRS William Scoresby from 1927 to 1945 or later RRS Discovery II from 1929 to 1951
Reports Results of the investigations were printed in the Discovery Reports. This was a series of many small reports, published in 38 volumes by the Cambridge University Press, and latterly the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences. Many were printed as individual reports rather than in large volumes.
List Volume Pages/Plates/Charts Title Author PublishedVolume I List of Personnel pp. 1–140 Plates I - VI Station List 1925 - 1927 January 1929 pp. 143–232 Plates VII - XVIII Objects, Equipment and Methods S Kemp ScD A C Hardy MA N A Mackintosh ARCS MSc July 1929 pp. 235–255 Plates XIX - XXIV The Natural History of the Elephant Seal with Notes on Other Seals Found at South Georgia L Harrison Matthews MA July 1929 pp. 259–540 Plates XXV - XLIV Southern Blue and Fin Whales N A Mackintosh ARCS MSc J F G Wheeler MSc December 1929 pp. 543–560 Parasitic Nematoda and Acanthocephala Collected in 1925 - 1927 H A Bayliss MA DSc December 1929 pp. 563–592 Plates XLV - LVI The Birds of South Georgia L Harrison Matthews MA December 1929Volume II pp. 3–222 Polychaete Worms C C A Monroe MA October 1930 pp. 225–260 Plate I Thoracic Cirripedes Collected in 1925-1927 C A Nilsson-Cantell, Sweden October 1930 pp. 263–370 Plate II Oceanic Fishes and Flatfishes Collected in 1925 - 1927 J R Norman October 1930 pp. 373–402 Plates III - IV Cephalopoda, I. Octopoda G C Robson MA November 1930 pp. 405–434 Plate V The Age of Fin Whales at Physical Maturity with a Note on Multiple Ovulations J F G Wheeler MSc January 1931 pp. 437–482 Plates VI - VII The Anatomy of a Marine Ostracod Cypridina (Doloria) Levis Skogsberg H Graham Cannon ScD February 1931Volume III List of Personnel January 1932 pp. 3–132 Plates I - X Station List 1927 - 1929 January 1931 pp. 135–198 Plates XI - XXXI The South Sandwich Islands (With a report on Rock Specimens by GW Tyrrell ARCSc DSc FGS FRSE) S Kemp ScD FRS A L Nelson RNR November 1931 pp. 201–222 Plate XXXII Nebaliacea H Graham Cannon ScD December 1931 pp. 225–260 Plates XXXIII - XXXVIII Cephalodiscus C C John MA December 1931 pp. 263–268 Spiders Collected by the Discovery Expedition, with a Description of a New Species from South Georgia W S Bristowe BA FZS December 1931 pp. 269–296 Plate XXXIX Mollusca: Gastropoda Thecosomata and Gymnosomata Anne L Massy March 1932 pp. 299–344 Plates XL - XLIV Charts 1 - 4 Narrative of Hydrographic Survey Operations in South Georgia and the South Shetland Islands Lt Cdr J M Chaplin RN June 1932Volume IV pp. 3–230 Plates I - IV Station List 1929 - 1931 July 1932 pp. 235–265 Oligochaeta. Part I. Microdrili (Mainly Enchytraeidae) J Stephenson CIE MB DSc FRS May 1932 pp. 267–291 Oligochaeta. Part II. Earthworms Grace E Pickford PhD, Osborn Zoological Laboratory, Yale University May 1932 pp 293 – 460v Plates VI - XVII Foraminifera. Part I. The Ice-Free Area of the Falkland Islands and Adjacent Seas Edward Heron-Allen FRS Arthur Earland FRMS August 1932Volume V pp 3 – 326v Plate I Amphipoda K H Barnard DSc FLS August 1932 pp. 329–363 The Vascular Networks (Retia Mirabilia) of the Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus) F D Omanney ARCS BSc September 1932 pp. 365–466 Plates II - III The Uro-Genital System of the Fin Whale (Balaenoptera physalus) F D Omanney ARCS BSc September 1932 pp. 469–484 Plate IV Lobster-krill: Anomuran Crustacea that are the Food of Whales L Harrison Matthews MA November 1932Volume VI pp. 1–138 Pycnogonida Isabella Gordon DSc PhD, Assistant keeper in the Department of zoology, British Museum (Natural History) December 1932 pp. 139–164 Plates I - VI Report on Penguin Embryos Collected During the Discovery Investigations C W Parsons BA, Lecturer in zoology at the University of Glasgow December 1932 pp. 165–190 Plates VII - XLII On the Distribution and Movements of Whales on the South Georgia and South Shetland Whaling Grounds Stanley Kemp ScD FRS A G Bennett December 1932 pp. 191–204 Plates XLIII - XLIV On the Development of Cephalodiscus C C John MA DSc DIC December 1932 pp. 205–236 Plates XLV - XLVII Charts 1 - 7 Report on Soundings Taken During the Discovery Investigations 1926 - 1932 H F P Herdman MSc December 1932 pp. 237–392 Plates XLVIII-LVII Sponges Maurice Burton MSc, Assistant-Keeper, Department of Zoology, British Museum (Nat. Hist.) December 1932Volume VII pp. 3–15 Fossil Forminifera from the Burdwood Bank and their Geological Significance W A Macfadyen MC MA PhD FGS February 1933 pp. 17–27 Faecal Pellets from Marine Deposits Hilary B Moore BSc March 1933 pp. 29–138 Plates 1 - VII Foraminifera. Part II, South Georgia Arthur Earland FRSE FRMS June 1933 pp. 139–170 On Vertical Circulation in the Ocean due to the Action of the Wind with Application to Conditions within the Antarctic Circumpolar Current H U Sverdrup November 1933 pp. 173–238 Plates VIII - X A General Account of the Hydrology of the South Atlantic Ocean G E R Deacon BSc November 1933 pp. 241–252 Plates XI - XIII Whaling in the Dominion of New Zealand F D Ommanney ARCS BScDecember 1933 pp. 255–362 Plate XIV Isopod Crustacea. Part I, The Family Serolidae Edith M Sheppard MSc December 1933 pp. 365–406 Plate XV Some Aspects of Respiration in Blue and Fin Whales Alec H Laurie MA December 1933Volume VIII List of Personnel March 1934 pp. 3–270 On the Phytoplankton of the South-West Atlantic and the Bellingshausen Sea T John Hart BSc January 1934 pp. 271–318 Plates I - XIII The Southern Sea Lion, Otaria byronia (De Blainville) J E Hamilton MSc January 1934 pp. 321–330 On a New Species of Mite of the Family Halarachnidae from the Southern Sea Lion Susan Finnegan BSc PhD January 1934 pp. 331–396 Plates XIV - XV Scyphomedusae G Stiasny DSC, Leiden February 1934Volume IX pp. 3–66 Hydrology of the Bransfield Strait A J Clowes M.Sc. ARCS February 1934 pp. 67–160 Distribution of the Macroplankton in the Atlantic Sector of the Antarctic N A Mackintosh D.Sc April 1934 pp. 163–174 Plate I The Sub-Antarctic Forms of the Great Skua (Catharacta skua skua) J E Hamilton M.Sc. June 1934 pp. 177–206 Plates II - XIV The Marine Deposits of the Patagonian Shelf L Harrison Matthews MA August 1934 pp. 209–216 The Development of Rhincalanus Robert Gurney September 1934 pp. 217–294 Plates XV - XVI Nemerteans from the South Atlantic and Southern Oceans J F G Wheeler D.Sc. November 1934 pp. 297–350 Plates XVI - XXII The Sea Floor Deposits. I General Characteristics and Distribution E Neaverson DSc FGS December 1934 pp. 351–372 On the Stock of Whales at South Georgia J FG Wheeler D.Sc. December 1934Volume X pp. 3–210 Plates I-X Foraminifera, Part III. The Falklands Sector of the Antarctic (Excluding South Georgia) Arthur Earland FRMS December 1934 pp. 211–248 The Falkland Species of the Crustacean Genus Munida G W Rayner BSc April 1935 pp. 249–282 Plate XI On the Diatoms of the Skin Film of Whales, and their Possible Bearing on Problems of Whale Movements T John Hart MSc June 1935 pp. 285–382 Plates XII - XXV The South Orkney Islands James W S Marr MA BSc November 1935 pp. 383–390 Report on Rocks from the South Orkney Islands CE Tilley BSc PhD December 1935Volume XI pp. 1–456 The Plankton of the South Georgia Whaling Grounds and Adjacent Waters A C Hardy MA ER Gunther MA November 1935 pp. 457–510 The Continuous Plankton Recorder A C Hardy MA December 1936 pp. 511–538 Observations on the Uneven Distribution of Oceanic Plankton A C Hardy MA November 1936Volume XII List of Personnel 1936 pp. 1–58 Coast Fishes. Part I. The South Atlantic J R Norman December 1935 pp. 59–198 Polychaete Worms C C A Monro MA January 1936 pp. 199–348 Plates I - IX Echinoidea and Ophiuroidea Th. Mortensen March 1936 pp. 349–378 Plates X - XII The Birds of the South Orkney Islands R A B Ardley RNR February 1936 pp. 379–440 Larvae of Decapod Crustecea Robert Gurney DSc September 1936Volume XIII pp. 1–76 Plates I - IIa Foraminifera. Part IV, Additional Records from the Weddell Sea Sector from Material Obtained by the SY Scotia With a report on Some Crystalline Components of the Weddell Sea Deposits. by FA Bannister MA Arthur Earland FRMS September 1936 pp. 77–106 The Royal Research Ship Discovery II R A B Ardley RNR N A Mackintosh DSc July 1936pp. 109–276 Plates XIV - XVI A Report on Oceanographical Investigations in the Peru Coastal CurrentE R Gunther MAOctober 1936 pp. 277–384 Rhincalanus Gigas (Brady) A Copepod of the Southern Macroplankton F D Ommanney PhD ARCS October 1936Volume XIV pp. 1–192 On the Development and Distribution of the Young Stages of Krill (Euphausia superba) F C Fraser BSc December 1936 pp. 193–324 The Southern Species of the genus Euphausia D. Dilwyn John 14 December 1936 pp. 325-350Plates I - V The reproductive system of Euphausia superba Helene E. Bargmann PhD 25 June 1937 pp. 351–404 Larvae of Decapod Crustacea. Part IV. Hippolytidae Robert Gurney DSc June 1937Volume XV pp. 1–124 The Hydrology of the Southern Ocean G E R Deacon BSc March 1937 pp. 125–152 Note on the Dynamics of the southern Ocean G E R Deacon March 1937 pp. 153–222 New Species of Marine Mollusca from New Zealand A W B Powell March 1937 pp. 223–284 The Age of Female Blue Whales and the Effect of Whaling on the Stock Alec H Laurie MA May 1937Volume XVI pp. 1–150 Plates I - V Coast Fishes. Part II. The Patagonian Region J R Norman February 1937 pp. 151–364 Plates VI - XIII The Plankton Diatoms of the Southern Seas N Ingram Hendey FLS FRMS April 1937 pp. 365–412 The Seasonal Circulation of the Antarctic Macroplankton N A Mackintosh DSc April 1937 pp. 413–446 Plate XIV Rhizosolenia curvata Zacharias, an Indicator Species in the Southern Ocean T John Hart DScMay 1937Volume XVII pp. 1–6 Plate I On the Histological Structure of Cetacean Lungs F Haynes MA Alec H Laurie MA July 1937 pp. 9–92 Plate II The Humpback Whale, Megaptera nodosa L. Harrison Matthews, M.A. January 1938 pp. 95-168 Plates III-XI The Sperm Whale, Physeter catodon L. Harrison Matthews, M.A. March 1938 pp. 169-182 Plates XII-XVII Notes On The Southern Right Whale, Eubalaena australis L. Harrison Matthews, M.A. April 1938 pp. 185-290 Plates XVIII, XIX The Sei Whale, Balaenoptera borealis L. Harrison Matthews, M.A. June 1938 pp. 291–344 Larvae of Decapod Crustecea. Part V. Nephropsidea and Thalassinidea Robert Gurney D.Sc. July 1938Volume XVIII pp. 1–104 Plate I Coast Fishes. Part III. The Antarctic Zone J R Norman May 1938 pp105 – 120 Plate II On the Operation of Large Plankton Nets James W S Marr MA BSc August 1938 pp. 121–222 Plates III - VI Crinoidea D Dilwyn John MSc October 1938 pp. 223–238 Thoracic Cirripeded Collected in 1925 - 1936 C A Nilsson-Cantell, Sweden January 1939 pp. 239–264