1. Course overview History of Oceanography
Introduction
Course overview
History of Oceanography

2. Interdisciplinary Biology Chemistry Physics Geology Geography
Political Science
Mathematics
Computer Science

3. History of Oceanography
Early
Age of Discovery
Science and the Oceans
Modern Oceanography
Different motivations at different times

4. Early history Reasons: trade, fishing, defense
Self centered view of Earth
Examples

5. Early history (2) Difficult to navigate without shorelines
Phoenicians (approx BC)
Polynesians ( AD most important)

6. Early history (3) Greeks (approx. 500 BC)
Erasthosthenes (working in Egypt) – circumference of earth
Pliny the Elder – phases of moon and tides
Ptolemy (approx. 150 AD) – vast ocean, used lat and long
Middle Ages: very little exploration except
Vikings (approx AD)
Arabs

7. Age of Discovery (1)
Travel for economic, political and religious reasons
Portugal:
Prince Henry
Dias (1497)
Vasco Da Gama (1498)

8. Age of Discovery (2) Spain Columbus (1492) Vespucci (~1500)
Balboa (1513)
Magellan (1522)

9. Age of Discovery (3) Discovery with some science
James Cook ( )
Endeavour, Resolution, Adventure
Ben Franklin (1769)
Matthew F. Maury (early 1800s)

10. Purely scientific Challenger Expedition (1872-1876)
Extremely significant

11. More for science Voyages of Nansen aboard Fram (end of 1800s)
Meteor expedition ( )

12. Modern Oceanography (20th century)
International
Interdisciplinary
Scientific
Complex instruments
“Modern” technology

13. Modern Oceanography US funding – NSF, ONR, NOAA
Oceanographic institutes
Drill ships, satellites, for example
International cooperation