History of
Oceanography
Brian Schuster
Polynesians
 colonized islands in the
Pacific Ocean (Hawaii,
Tahiti, Easter Islands,
etc.)
 navigated with stars
 sailed in large canoes
 made “stick charts”
from bamboo and wood
to diagram islands
Mediterranean Sea
 first maps were made of this sea
 several civilizations navigated here
 Greeks were the first to sail out of sea into ocean;
they observed currents
 Eratosthenes determined Earth’s circumference to
be 25,000 miles
 Phoenicians greatly improved navigation
 Phoenicians circumnavigated Africa in 590 BC
Age of Discovery
1800s)
(1500s-
 stimulated by the lust for resources and better
trade routes
 1513 Balboa finds the Pacific Ocean
 1519 Victoria, led by Portuguese Ferdinand
Magellan, circumnavigates the world; 3 of 5 ships
are lost on voyage; Magellan is killed in
Philippines, then del Cano takes over
 1768 English James Cook charts Australia region
aboard Endeavor; prevents scurvy by getting
sailors enough Vitamin C
 1772 Cook charts islands of Pacific with Resolution
and Adventure; killed by natives of Hawaii
Age of Discovery
1800s)
(1500s-
 1728 John Harrison make a marine
chronometer, which allowed
navigators to determine longitude
on ships
 1769 Ben Franklin and Tim Folger
map the Gulf Stream
 1842 Matthew Fontaine Maury
(“Father of Oceanography”)
systematically collects wind and
current data; charts North Atlantic
 1831 Charles Darwin sails aboard
HMS Beagle as the naturalist;
accurately describes atoll formation
HMS Challenger
(1872-1876)
 first true oceanographic research expedition
 renovated a British corvette, a small warship
 led by Charles Wyville Thomson and his assistant,
John Murray
 discovered Mariana Trench; deepest spot was
later given the name Challenger Deep
 discovered mid-ocean ridge and collected water
data
Oceanography Pioneers
 Victor Hensen (1800s): plankton studies
 Alexander Agassiz (1800s): studied corals
aboard the Albatross
 Fridjtof Nansen (1800s): drifted in ice with the
Fram near the North Pole
 Walfrid Ekman (1900s): Scandinavian who
studied physical oceanography
 1909 Robert Peary reaches North Pole
 1911 Roald Amundsen reaches South Pole
Further Exploration
(1900s+)
 Ocean Drilling Program: collected data about sea
floor; started with Glomar Challenger (1968), then
JOIDES Resolution and Chikyu (“Planet Earth”)
 Meteor: German ship; studied South Atlantic
currents
 FLIP (Floating Instrument Platform): sits still in the
water
 FAMOUS (French-American Mid-Ocean Undersea
Study, 1974): studied Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Further Exploration
(continued)
 Trieste: bathyscaphe that still holds the
deepest dive to 11000 m in Challenger Deep;
designed by Auguste Piccard
 SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing
apparatus, 1943): initially developed by
Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Emile Gagnon
 SEASAT (1978): short-lived satellite; pioneer in
oceanography remote sensing
 TOPEX/Poseidon (1992-2006): satellite that
measured sea surface height to reveal info
about circulation; successful mission
Modern Submersibles of
Today
 Alvin (max: 4000m): manned DSV;
discovered hydrothermal vents, recovered
missing bomb
 Sea Cliff II (max: 6000m): went deeper
than Alvin
 Jason/Medea: pair of ROVs attached to
each other