What did deep soundings from the Fram expedition reveal about the Arctic Ocean floor?

Contrary to the popular belief at the time that the Arctic Ocean consisted of shallow water, the deep soundings taken during the Fram expedition revealed the existence of a deep basin under the North Polar Sea.1

Specifically, the expedition recorded depths ranging from approximately 11,000 to 13,000 feet (3,300 to 4,000 meters). These findings marked the true discovery of the Arctic Ocean as a deep-water body rather than a shallow basin, fundamentally changing scientific understanding of the region. While later 20th-century explorations revealed the ocean floor to be a complex system of multiple basins and submarine ridges, Fridtjof Nansen's initial work in the Fram provided the foundational evidence for the depth of the central polar basin.12