Early Oceanography and Exploration

Flashcards covering key terms from the lecture notes on early oceanography, oceans, navigation, routes, and exploration.

Pacific Ocean

The world's largest and deepest ocean.

Arctic Ocean

The smallest and shallowest ocean.

Atlantic Ocean

The second-largest ocean.

Indian Ocean

An ocean located mostly in the Southern Hemisphere.

Southern Ocean

The ocean that surrounds Antarctica; its boundary is defined by the Antarctic Convergence.

Antarctic Convergence

The boundary where cold Antarctic waters meet warmer waters, marking the Southern Ocean's edge.

Equator

An imaginary line around the middle of the Earth at 0 degrees latitude.

Tropic of Cancer

A latitude line at about 23.5 degrees north marking the northern boundary of the tropical zone.

Tropic of Capricorn

A latitude line at about 23.5 degrees south marking the southern boundary of the tropical zone.

Prime Meridian

The reference line for longitude at 0°, passing through Greenwich.

North Pole

The northernmost point on Earth at 90°N.

South Pole

The southernmost point on Earth at 90°S.

Sea Level

The average level of the world’s oceans, used as a base for measuring elevations.

Earth's Ocean Coverage

Oceans cover about 70.8% of Earth's surface; land covers about 29.2%.

Ocean Size by Ocean

Relative size of oceans: Pacific ~50.1%, Atlantic ~26.0%, Indian ~20.5%, Arctic ~3.4%.

Mariana Trench

Deepest point in the ocean at about 11,022 meters (36,161 feet).

Average Ocean Depth

Average depth of the oceans is about 3,682 meters.

Mt. Everest

Tallest land height on Earth at about 8,850 meters.

Hokulea

Hawaiian double-hulled canoe used in the 1970s revival of traditional Polynesian voyaging.

Nainoa Thompson

Notable Hawaiian navigator who learned to sail Hokulea with traditional techniques.

Polynesian Navigators

Traditional navigators who used stars, wind, waves, and birds to voyage across the Pacific.

Kon-Tiki Route

Route of the Kon-Tiki raft voyage across the Pacific to demonstrate long-distance ocean travel.

Vinland

Norse name for North America (Newfoundland) and its early Viking exploration.

Striped Bream (Gnathodentex aurolineatus)

A reef fish noted in the material; mentioned as not carrying ciguatera.

Phoenicians

Ancient Mediterranean seafarers who developed navigation by about 200 BCE.

Ptolemy

Greco-Roman geographer who produced a world map around 150 CE.

Age of Discovery

Period roughly 1492–1522 when Europeans explored and mapped the globe.

Columbus

Explorer who departed in 1492 and returned in 1493, initiating major transoceanic travel.

Magellan

Explorer who began the first circumnavigation of the Earth in 1519; completed by others after his death.

Latitude and Longitude

Coordinate system used to specify positions on Earth (latitude measures north-south, longitude measures east-west).

Great Ocean Conveyor Belt

Global circulation pattern connecting major oceans through deep and surface currents.

Antarctic Circumpolar Current

Ocean current that flows around Antarctica, linking basins and driving global circulation.

Drifting Floats (Ledwell et al. 1993)

Chemical tracer-drifting floats used to study ocean currents and mixing over months.

Ciguatera

A toxin from reef-dwelling dinoflagellates that can accumulate in some fish and cause illness.

Micronesia

A Pacific subregion consisting of thousands of small islands in the western Pacific.

Melanesia

A Pacific subregion including islands such as Fiji, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu.

Polynesia

A Pacific subregion of many islands in the central and southern Pacific, including Hawaii and Easter Island.

Lapita

An ancient Oceanian culture linked to the spread of Austronesian languages across the Pacific.

Marquesas Islands

A group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia.

Easter Island

A remote island in the southeastern Pacific, part of Chile.

Pitcairn Islands

A small group of islands in the southern Pacific linked to the Bounty mutiny.