Oceanography
The Article
1. What is oceanography?
- the scientific study of the Earth’s oceans and their boundaries.
2. What are three reasons that human history is so dependant on the oceans?
- a source of food
- the key to weather and climate
- highways for ships of commerce
3. What were the interests of early civilizations as they studied the oceans?
- mainly on practical matters such as gathering lore on the ways of sea life, on
tides, and other ocean phenomena affecting the shores
- charting of seaways to aid navigation
4. When did oceanography as a science begin?
Began in the 19th century with the work of such men as US naval officer Matthew
Fontaine Maury and his compilation of oceanographic data from ships’ logs
5. What was the first major scientific expedition in oceanography? When was it?
- the first around-the-world voyage of H.M.S. Challenger
- from England in 1872 which took 3 yrs and 5 months
6. What types of data were gathered on the voyage in question 5?
- physical and chemical characteristics of seawater and bottom sediments
- distribution of organic life at all water depths and on the seafloor
7. What happened for the first time on the German ship Meteor in 1926?
- the use of an echo sounder to chart the ruggedness of the ocean bottom
- the chart was in a continuous matter
8. What are the subdivisions of modern oceanography?
- physical oceanography
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- chemical oceanography
- biological oceanography
- geological oceanography
9. What do physical oceanographers study?
- study the physical processes underlying such phenomena as currents, tides,
water waves, water transparency, density, and temperature
- underwater acoustics and sound transmission
10. What do marine biologists study?
- study life in the sea
- marine ecology
- total organic production in the oceans
11. What do marine geologists study?
-
map the ocean floor
analyze shoreline problems
study sediments of the ocean floor
rocks of the underlying crust
12. What are three leading US institutions for oceanography?
- Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, NY
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, Calif.
- Woods Hole Scientific Institutions on Cape Cod, Mass.
13. What was the purpose of the Global Ocean Flux Study?
- investigated the processes that control biogeochemical cycles in the ocean
14. How is remote sensing being used to study the oceans?
- to study ocean currents
15. What were two early technical devices used to study oceans? What were their
purposes?
- weighted sounding lines, which obtained the local water depth
- rope-suspended scoops or dredges which brought sediment and bottomdwelling marine life to a ship’s deck
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16. Describe a Nansen bottle and its function.
- a metal tubular container with ends that could be shut by ‘ messenger’
devices
- collecting water samples from all depths
17. What are thermoclines? How were they measured for a long time?
- temperature differences with depth
- measured with mechanical bathythermographs (devices that could
simultaneously record temperatures and depths down to about 300 m (980
ft)
18. What type of tool is used to measure the amount of light that passes through water
to different depths?
- waterproofed photoelectric cells
19. Why are measurements of light, visibility, and turbidity important?
- the amount of solar energy that is present directly affects the bioproductivity
of a given body of water
- how sound is transmitted through water, along with the effects of different
frequencies
20. What types of things can a “fish” measure?
-
continuous sampling
depth data
temperature
salinity
turbidity
oxygen
carbon dioxide
specific heavy metals and pollutants
21. What is a monster buoy?
- doughnut-shaped, self-contained telemetering devices that provide
meteorological information from remote, seldom-traveled ocean areas
22. What type of information does a monster buoy transmit?
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- barometric pressures
- wind speeds and directions
- wave heights and directions to shore-based monitoring stations
23. What are two ways that oceanographers can study the ocean directly?
- scuba diving equipment
- more complex deep-sea diving systems
24. What two interesting undersea items was Alvin used to observe in the 1980s?
- hydrothermal vents
- visit the wreckage of the Titanic
25. What is an ROV?
Remotely Operated Vehicle
26. Write a paragraph (5-7 sentences) explaining which branch of oceanography that
you would be most interested in studying. Give reasons why you would be
interested in this branch of oceanography.
Responses will vary.
27. Write a paragraph (5-7 sentences) explaining which branch of oceanography that
you would be least interested in studying. Give reasons why you would not be
interested in this branch of oceanography.
Responses will vary.
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