1. History of Oceanography

2. Why Study the Oceans?
People have been collecting information about the oceans for hundreds of years
Why do you think early civilizations studied the oceans?
Food
Transportation
Trade and commerce
National security
New lands
Knowledge

3. Prehistoric Man The main concern of ancient man was survival
Archeological digs of coastal areas have found shells in refuse piles along with bones of some deep sea creatures
Fishing in some form must have occurred and therefore boats and nets must have been used

4. Prehistoric Man The second concern was travel
Boats probably made of wood, skin, reed
These materials rarely preserve so there is little physical evidence with the exception of pictographs

5. Early Exploration
The early information about the oceans was collected by explorers and traders
3200 BC First recorded sea voyages, led by Egypt
1500 BC Phoenicians established trade routes across Mediterranean Sea and north into the Atlantic
BC Arab traders explored Indian Ocean
BC Polynesians populated many Pacific islands including Samoa, New Zealand, Easter Island and Hawaii

6. The Greeks Aristotle 384-322 BC Pytheas 350-300 BC
Believed that the oceans filled the deepest parts of the Earth’s surface
Knew the sun evaporated water from the sea, which returned as rain
Began to catalog marine organisms
Pytheas BC
Made one of the earliest recorded voyages from the Mediterranean to England
Navigated by the sun, stars, and wind
Recognized a relationship between the tides and the Moon
Made attempts to determine latitude and longitude
Eratosthenes BC
Mapped the known world
Calculated the Earth’s circumference to be 25,000 miles (today’s measurement is 24,884 miles)

7. The Greeks Posidonius 135-50 BC Pliny the Elder AD 23-79
Measured to an ocean depth to about meters
Pliny the Elder AD 23-79
Noted the relationships between the tides and phases of the moon
Studied the currents flowing through the Straits of Gibraltor
Ptolemy AD
Produced the first world atlas
Underestimated the circumference of the Earth which caused problems for Columbus

8. Chart from Ptolemy’s Geographia

9. The Middle Ages
The Middle Ages were a period of around years of intellectual activity in the west
However, shipbuilding, navigation, and cartography improved during this time

10. The Vikings AD
During a period of Climatic warming - similar to today’s “Global Warming” - the Vikings of Scandinavia conquered Iceland and settled in Greenland
Eric the Red sailed westward from Greenland and discovered Baffin Island
Eric’s son, Leif Ericson, discovered what was then called Vineland and spent the winter in an area of North America we call Newfoundland
Beginning in the 13th century the climate again began to cool and the North Atlantic began to clog with ice throughout most of the year
The Vikings were once again isolated and unable to “move” into the new territories they had found

11. Voyages of Discovery
Early on in the 15th century, the Chinese sailed throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans
There were 7 separate voyages using over 300 ships
Their voyages ended in when they concluded that there was little to learn from other societies
China began a 400 year period of isolation

12. Voyages of Discovery
In Europe, there was a desire to increase trade and discover new lands for financial gain
Bartholomeu Dias
Sailed around the Cape of Good Hope
Was looking for faster routes to the spices and silks of the East
Christopher Columbus
Made 4 voyages across the Atlantic
He indented on reaching the Far East and ended up discovering the “New World”
Prince Henry the Navigator
Portuguese royal who funded voyages to map Africa
Developed a new type of ship to expand ocean travel

13. Voyages of Discovery Vasco da Gama 1469-1524
Followed in the path of Dias establishing routes to India
Amerigo Vespucci
Explored 6000 miles of South American coastline for Spain and Portugal
He accepted South America as a new continent and not a part of Asia
Vasco Nunez de Balboa
Credited with the first sighting of the Pacific
Juan Ponce de Leon
Discovered Florida and the Florida Current

14. Voyages of Discovery Ferdinand Magellan 1480-1521
Left Spain with five ships and discovered and went through the Strait of Magellan around South America
Crossed the Pacific with three ships
He was killed in the Philippines, but one of the ships continued around Africa and returned home
This completed the first circumnavigation of the globe
He is also credited with determining the length of a degree of latitude and calculating the circumference of the Earth

15. Magellan’s Voyage

16. Voyages of Discovery Sir Francis Drake 1540-1596
Sailed on the Golden Hind to circumnavigate the globe
Returned home to England with Spanish gold for Queen Elizabeth I
He was knighted and treated as a hero

17. Beginning of Earth Science
Scientists began to show interest in experimental science and the study of chemical properties
Curiosity flourished
Scientists published their works and formed societies to discuss their discoveries
Johannes Kepler planetary motion
Galileo Galilei mass, weight, and acceleration
Isaac Newton law of gravity
Edmund Halley made a voyage to measure longitude and study the variation of the compass, also suggested that the age of the oceans could be calculated

18. Charts and Navigation
Colonies were being established far away and trade, travel, and exploration expanded
This required better charts and more accurate navigation techniques
The relationship between time and longitude had been recognized as early as 1530
In 1598, King Philip III of Spain offered a reward to any clockmaker that could build a clock that would keep accurate time on ships
In 1714, Queen Anne of England authorized a reward for a practical method of keeping time at sea
The British offered 20,000 pounds sterling for a seagoing clock that could keep time with an error less than two minutes

19. John Harrison Built his first chronometer in 1735
A chronometer is a seagoing clock
His fourth model passed the test in 1761
It lost only 51 seconds on the 81 day voyage
He didn’t receive the money until 1775 at the age of 83

20. 13. Captain James Cook
Made three voyages to chart the Pacific Ocean
He took one of Harrison’s chronometer to produce accurate charts
He made accurate observations of winds, currents, and water temperature
One of the founders of oceanography
1768 to Endeavor expedition to chart the transit of Venus
Circumnavigated the globe
Explored the coasts of New Zealand and Australia

22. Americans 13. Benjamin Franklin 1706-1790
Made the first chart of the Gulf Stream with the help of his cousin Timothy Folger
14. Matthew F. Maury
Was put in charge of the US Naval Hydrographic Office
Published the first wind and current charts of the North Atlantic
Produced the first published atlas of sea conditions and sailing directions
Published The Physical Geography of the Sea- considered the first Oceanography textbook
Constructed the first bathymetric chart of the North Atlantic

24. Ocean Science Johannes Muller 1801-1858 15. Charles Darwin 1809- 1882
Used a fine mesh tow net to collect microscopic organisms
Victor Hensen
Named the organisms plankton
15. Charles Darwin
One of the earliest scientific voyages
HMS Beagle
Proposed an explanation on the evolution of coral reefs

25. 16. Challenger Expedition
Organized by the British Royal Society and the British Admiralty
It was the most comprehensive expedition ever undertaken
Leader Wyville Thompson was instructed to travel throughout the ocean basins collecting all of the scientific information possible
Challenger traveled from
Ocean depths were measured at 361 locations
A depth of 26,850 feet was discovered in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific
Water samples were analyzed for temperature and chemistry
4717 new marine organisms were discovered
Deep water currents were studied
It took scientists 20 years to analyze all of the information collected

27. Fridtjof Nansen
Tested his ideas about the direction of ice drift
Froze a vessel in the polar ice pack and drifted with it to reach the North Pole
His vessel was called the Fram
The ship remained in the ice for 35 months
Measurements showed that the Arctic was a deep ocean basin, not a shallow sea
Water and air temperatures were recorded
Plankton numbers were measured

29. Twentieth Century
Private institutions and wealthy individuals took over the support of oceanography
These eventually became incorporated into universities
Ex. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Carnegie Institution, Rockefeller Foundation
The government took a huge interest in oceanography in response to World War II and formed numerous government agencies
National Science Foundation, Office of Naval Research
In the 1960’s, research ships and submersibles were built for universities and The Deep Sea Drilling Program was funded

30. So What is Oceanography?
Geological-study of the Earth at the sea’s edge and below its surface and the history of the processes that formed the ocean basins
Physical-how and why the oceans move
Chemical-composition and history of the water, its processes, and interactions
Biological-marine organisms and the relationship between the organisms and the environment
Ocean engineering-designs and plans equipment and installations for use at sea

31. Why Study the Ocean? 1. We get food from the ocean
2. We use the ocean-transport, oil, gas, recreation, swimming, boating, surfing, fishing, diving
3. Weather and climate-rainfall, droughts, floods, regional climate, storms, hurricanes, typhoons, global warming process,