Oceanography - Chapter 2 - History

What is oceanography?

mapping and studying of ocean processes across disciplines: geology, physical sciences, chemistry, biology

Geological oceanography

ex.) bathymetry, sediments

Physical science oceanography

currents, temperature, density, etc

Chemical oceanography

salinity, pH, nutrient cycling , etc

Biological oceanography

plants, animals, and microbe distributions

Historic origins of oceanography

• Prehistoric: served as knowledge base for finding food and navigation

• Early civilizations: used it for navigation, voyaging, and trade (Polynesians and Micronesians)

History of Oceanography: Polynesians and Micronesians

• Located in the open ocean

• Used Double-hulled, outrigger canoes

• Pioneered navigation techniques

  • Star Compass (rising and setting of different starts)

  • Stick Maps (teaching aids for showing waves, currents, islands etc)

  • Recognizing refraction and reflection of waves around islands

  • Sea birds

  • Cloud patterns over land, and reflections land can cast on the clouds

History of Oceanography: Mediterranean

• Minoans of Crete - First great sea power, used boats for trade and transport

• Phoenicians - known as the greatest sea power of their time (explored Med, Africa, etc)

  • Invented the keel, and caulking between planks for water resistance / buoyancy

• Greeks: Sailed the Atlantic ocean, and beyond the Gibraltar strait

  • Charted early oceanographic maps

Greek theories/discoveries that inform modern oceanography:

• Pythagoras - Spherical earth

• Aristotle - Rainfall = evaporation if ocean volume is constant

• Pytheas - Determining latitude using the north star; Tides are caused by the moon

• Eratosthenes - Circumference of the Earth (early lat and long)

History of Oceanography: Vikings

• Traveled from Scandinavia to Iceland, Greeland, France, N America

• Fast, strong ships

  • And small ships for costal landings

History of Oceanography: Chinese

• Very large ships and fleets were made to display wealth and go on explorations

• Invented the compass, central rudder, watertight compartments, and multiple mast sails

Why were Captain James Cook’s voyages important to the history of oceanography?

Cook’s three voyages (1768–1780) helped make ocean exploration more scientific by systematically collecting data on depth, temperature, currents, wind speed, and coral reefs. His voyages helped lay the groundwork for modern scientific oceanography.

• HMS Endeavour

• Circumnavigated the world three times

Who mapped the gulf stream and why was it significant?

• Benjamin franklin and Timothy Folger mapped the gulf stream

• Significant because it made the journey from Europe to NA two weeks faster

Why was the HMS Beagle voyage significant to oceanography/science?

The HMS Beagle voyage (1831–1836) carried Charles Darwin, whose observations of organisms across different geographic regions contributed to his ideas about evolution, natural selection, and species distributions. It also demonstrated the increasing use of ocean expeditions for scientific research.

• Surveyed ocean features around Southern South America

• Darwin noticed Coral atolls and marine fossils high on mountains which influenced his ideas of natural selection

USS Vincennes

• First USA sponsored expedition for the purpose of Natural Sciences

  • Circumnavigated world, and went to Antarctica (did not discover south pole)

  • Exploration, whale scouting, mineral gather

  • Disproved theory that there were holes in the Earth at the poles

Mathew Maury

worked with the U.S. Navy’s Depot of Charts and Instruments. He gathered information from ships’ logs, especially records of temperature and winds, and used those observations to create maps showing worldwide patterns of winds and ocean currents.

• Showed you didn’t need to go on an expedition to contribute to oceanography

HMS Challenger

• First expedition specifically for Oceanography

  • Recorded depth of Mariana Trench (8.2/11 km)

  • Temp, sal, density

  • Seafloor sediments

  • Net trawls (large “fishing” nets)

  • Current velocity

  • Marine life observations

  • Identified 5000 new species

  • LOTS of data

• First boat that was fitted with onboard laboratories

First Polar Explorations: Boat = The Fram

• Norweigan Boat

• First expedition

  • Fridtjof Nansen (Norweigan) Polar Expedition

    • Drifted with arctic pack ice

    • Determined there was no Arctic continent

• 2nd expedition

  • Roald Amundsen

    • First to reach the South Pole

Prominent women in oceanography:

• Marie Tharpe

• Eugnie Clark

• Sylvia Earle

Marie Tharpe

• Female Oceanographer

• Geologist and Cartographer

• Used Bathymetric data to map mid ocean ridges

• Supported Continental drift theory

Bathymetry and Bathymetric data

• Bathymetry is the measurement and study of underwater depths in oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers.

• Bathymetric data is the measurement of water depth and the shape of underwater terrain in oceans, lakes, and rivers. It is the underwater equivalent of topographic data used for land surfaces

Eugine Clark

• Ichthyologist: a scientist who studies fish

• Used Scuba gear for research

• Was one of the first to understand share behavior, and help consider them for marine conservation against their poor public perception

Sylvia Earle

• First Chief Scientist of NOAA

• Worked in deep sea subs and underwater labs

• In 1979 she performed the deepest sea walk

• Was a lecturer and advocate for ocean conservation

Modern Oceanography Advances

• Oceanographic Institutions (Scripps Institution of Oceanography - SD)

• Echo Sounder - is a device used to measure the depth of the ocean using sound waves.

• Drilling Ships

• NOAA (founded 1970)

• NOAA’s Okeanos Explorer

NOAA’s Okeanos Explorer

• United States' only federal ship dedicated entirely to exploring the unknown deep ocean

• Had a dedicated remotley operated vehicle that dives below the boat

• Systematic exploration, seafloor mapping, and deep-water habitat characterization.

Palmer Station

a small United States scientific research base located in Antarctica

Oceanography field technology

• ROVs - Remotley operated vehicles (tethered to a boat)

• AUV - unmanned autonmous vehicle that is programed with a misson

• Buoy - Floating instrument platform that stays in an area and collects measurements such as temperature, waves, winds, currents, etc.

• Drill ships - collect sediments etc

• Echo sounder - use sound waves to see things (especially useful when there is limited light)

Remote sensing / satellite

• major shift in oceanography because they let scientists study huge areas of the ocean without physically being there.

  • Expeditions usually cost millions of dollars, so this helps bring down the cost

• Useful for large scale projects

• estimate things such as sea-surface temperature, sea-surface height, ocean color/chlorophyll, sea ice, waves, and surface winds.

• Limited to understanding the Ocean surface. To look beyond, expeditions and hands on tools are more effective

Valuable ocean recources

• US ports

• Cruise industry

• Seafood

• Recreational Fishing

• Oil and Gas

• Tourism

Can cause some conflicts of ownership but also conservation

History of Ocean Ownership

• 1672: Brittan claims territory 4 miles outside of their land

  • Accepted by League of nations (1930)

• US Pres. Truman Proclamation of continental shelf (1945)

  • Claimed recoucres along the shelf belonged to USA

• United Nations: Law of the Sea Conferences

  • Outlined 14-mile zone with fishery rights

  • Vauge definitions

• Law of the Sea Treaty (1982)

Law of the Sea Treaty (1982)

• Provided full sovereignty to territorial sea

• Established Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

• “Free and innocent passage outside of territorial sea

• Still a complicated debate

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

Under the 1982 Law of the Sea Treaty, an EEZ extends 200 miles offshore or to the end of the continental shelf and gives a coastal nation jurisdiction over minerals, fisheries, pollution, and research. It is different from the territorial sea because the country has resource rights rather than complete sovereignty over the water

• The USA has the largest EEZ among nations

• Proportionally, France also has a very large EEZ

• Lot of complicated overlap in Pacific islands EEZ