Cordell Expeditions
4295 Walnut Blvd.
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
(510) 934-3735 (voice and fax)
e-mail: cordell@ccnet.com
Cordell Expeditions is a tax-exempt, nonprofit research association operating under the laws of the State of California and the U. S. Department of Internal Revenue. Founded in 1977, the group has carried out a series of research expeditions every year since 1978.
The work involves exploring and describing remote sites, principally offshore submerged marine sites that support extensive biological communities. The motivation for the work is to carry out field work to generate primary information about the sites, so that they can be protected and rationally managed.
The first project of Cordell Expeditions was to explore and describe Cordell Bank, a shallow rocky feature about 50 nautical miles NW of San Francisco, California. As a result of this 10-year project, the U. S. Department of Commerce designated it as the Cordell Bank National Sanctuary. It is now protected by an Act of Congress.
Other expeditions by the group have been to the Farallon Islands, Noonday Rock, and Fanny Shoal; the coast near Pt. Sur, California; Rocas Alijos and Guadalupe Island (Baja California); Peter I Island, Antarctica; and Easter Island/Salas y Gómez.
Books resulted from the these expeditions (all by R. W. Schmieder) include:
The work has resulted in the discovery of more than 30 new species, significant uncharted topographic features, and many first observations of environmental conditions. A large collection of specimens, and photographic archive, and a large number of popular articles are additional results of the expeditions. It is expected that the expedition to Heard Island will produce a large amount of new information. The collection of biological specimens will be made available to specialists for display and research. A general interest book, a video, and various articles will be published.
Recently a major part of the focus of the expeditions has been amateur radio. Expedition Leader Bob Schmieder, KK6EK, has been a member of two teams that have received the DXpedition of the Year award at the Dayton (Ohio) hamfest.
