The Danish Expedition of the "Galathea II" around the world brought important results concerning the marine organisms in the deep sea. Furthermore it represents an open Danish nation to the world.
The "Galathea II" showed not only different organisms of the Abyssal but for the first time of the deepest trenches of the western Pacific. The Fahrtleiter Anton Bruun coined the term Hadal for the region below the Abyssal under 6000 m.
Although the "Galathea II" aimed to investigate new deep sea regions beside the routes of former expeditions and to widen the horizon of knowledge relating marine organisms the technical equipment and the methodological approach had partly been developed earlier. Some crew members made experiences on other Danish cruises. Therefore the expedition of the "Galathea II" is part of a long tradition. On an epistemological level there are different scientific, methodological, social and financial aspects that influenced the expedition. Roots can be found in preceding deep sea expeditions like those of the British "Challenger", the German "Valdivia" and the Swedish "Albatross" but especially in Danish cruises of the "Dana I" and "Dana II" some years before. Therefore the cruise of the "Galathea II" showed the world what lives at the bottom of the oceans but the results derived from the abilities of the crew, the comprehensive tradition in Denmark, the international scientific experience and simply the luck to grap with the net at the right time on the right places.