History of Ocean Exploration A timeline of contributions

Something to consider… Think back to the beginning of humanity. Think of all possible reasons why humans would start exploring the oceans (Think about why we do so today). List all reasons the class comes up with.

~25,000 yrs ago - Polynesians Polynesians began colonizing Pacific (Samoa, Hawaii…) by knowledge of waves, bird flight, stars, smell of water, temp, salinity, color, and marine life Photos courtesy of the Polynesian Culture Center

~300 BC - Greeks inverted kettles trapped air to dive for sponges -these kettles can be thought of as the first submersibles -submersibles differ from submarines in that they need a vessel to reach their point of study; they typically are not stand-alone vehicles like submarines Alexander the Great Diving Photo courtesy of NOAA

~300 BC - Aristotle 1st marine biologist “Father of natural history” He identified a variety of marine species such as crustaceans, echinoderms, mollusks, fish and mammals Identified differences between oviparous and viviparous The School of Athens by Raffaello Sanzio 1509, showing Plato (left) and Aristotle (right)

800- 1000 A.D. Viking Exploration 15- 30 m ships of oak powered by sails and oars Explored Europe, Asia and North America Reached North America 500 years before Columbus

~1400-1600 - Renaissance 1492 Columbus “discovers” America 1519 Ferdinand Magellan to sail around world and contributed to charting the oceans Map courtesy of Encyclopedia Britannica

1690 – Edmond Halley (U.K.) diving bell takes divers 50 feet underwater Suggested that the age of the oceans could be determined by the rate at which rivers carry salt to the ocean Photo courtesy of National Maritime Museum, London

Mid-1700’s: Captain James Cook / Benjamin Franklin Cook: Observations led to the discovery that vitamin C prevents scurvy and mapped islands in the South Pacific. Franklin: noticed that mail delivery from Europe to the colonies took longer than mail from the colonies to Europe. Learned of a water current that moved up the coast from the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf Stream).

1800 – Robert Fulton (U.S.) Submarine Nautilus tested in France Photo courtesy of National Maritime Museum, London

1831 – Voyage of the Beagle Naturalist Charles Darwin sailed around the world on HMS Beagle Theory of evolution by natural selection Map courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

1872-1876 – Challenger expedition 1st expedition to collect oceanic species from around the world Beginning of modern oceanography Map courtesy of TAMU

Challenger contributions Water samples Sediment samples Recorded temperature and pressure at varying depths Discovered, described and catalogued 4,700 new species of marine organisms Collected data on tides, currents, and wave action Director: Sir Charles Thompson “ founder of oceanography”

1930 – Otis Barton (U.S.) Barton designed the bathysphere, and with naturalist Dr. William Beebe dove 1428 feet near Bermuda Photo courtesy of Wildlife Conservation Society

1943 – Jacques-Yves Cousteau (France) Photo courtesy of NOAA Cousteau improved the aqualung and invented modern scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus) Marine conservationist

1960 – Jacques Piccard (Switzerland) Map courtesy of NOAA Photo courtesy of National Maritime Museum, London Piccard designed the bathyscaphe Trieste, and with Lt. Don Walsh, reached the deepest point in the ocean, 35,000 feet in the Mariana Trench

1977 – Alvin Carries scientists to observe deep ocean hydrothermal vents for the first time Photo courtesy of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute http://www.whoi.edu/home/interactive/alvin/

1979 – Dr. Sylvia Earle (U.S.) Photo courtesy of Al Giddings Images, Inc Dr. Earle, in a Jim suit, rides the submersible Star II to the seafloor, 1250 feet deep near Oahu, Hawaii Photo courtesy of Al Giddings Images, Inc

1984 – DeepRover This single person submersible was launched, diving 3280 feet Photo courtesy of Marine Technology Society

1999 – DeepWorker This single person submersible allows pilots to explore U.S. National Marine Sanctuaries

Robert “Bob” Ballard Most remembered for his discoveries of old ship wrecks of the RMS Titanic, Battleship Bismarck, USS Yorktown and most recently John F. Kennedy’s PT109. He is a former commander in the US Navy and is currently a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island

Today - Marine labs Many marine labs established in 1800’s and thrive today: Woods Hole, MA http://www.whoi.edu/ Scripps (CA) http://www.sio.ucsd.edu/ -Harte Research Institute (TX) http://www.harteresearchinstitute.org/ Virginia Institute Marine Science http://www.vims.edu/

Bob Ballard Under water discovery Video After watching the video complete a quick write in your composition book or a blank sheet of paper Answer: Why do you think we haven’t explored the oceans more in depth? What is the importance of exploring the oceans? In what way(s) do you think we’ve made a sufficient progress throughout history of ocean exploration? Teacher complete this after students have finished the gallery walk