Oceanography
Oceanography (from
History
Early history
Humans first acquired knowledge of the waves and currents of the seas and oceans in pre-historic times. Observations on tides were recorded by Aristotle and Strabo in 384–322 BC.[1] Early exploration of the oceans was primarily for cartography and mainly limited to its surfaces and of the animals that fishermen brought up in nets, though depth soundings by lead line were taken.
The Portuguese campaign of Atlantic navigation is the earliest example of a systematic scientific large project, sustained over many decades, studying the currents and winds of the Atlantic.
The work of Pedro Nunes (1502–1578) is remembered in the navigation context for the determination of the loxodromic curve: the shortest course between two points on the surface of a sphere represented onto a two-dimensional map.[2][3] When he published his "Treatise of the Sphere" (1537), mostly a commentated translation of earlier work by others, he included a treatise on geometrical and astronomic methods of navigation. There he states clearly that Portuguese navigations were not an adventurous endeavour:
"nam se fezeram indo a acertar: mas partiam os nossos mareantes muy ensinados e prouidos de estromentos e regras de astrologia e geometria que sam as cousas que os cosmographos ham dadar apercebidas (...) e leuaua cartas muy particularmente rumadas e na ja as de que os antigos vsauam" (were not done by chance: but our seafarers departed well taught and provided with instruments and rules of astrology (astronomy) and geometry which were matters the cosmographers would provide (...) and they took charts with exact routes and no longer those used by the ancient).[4]
His credibility rests on being personally involved in the instruction of pilots and senior seafarers from 1527 onwards by Royal appointment, along with his recognized competence as mathematician and astronomer.[2] The main problem in navigating back from the south of the Canary Islands (or south of Boujdour) by sail alone, is due to the change in the regime of winds and currents: the North Atlantic gyre and the Equatorial counter current [5] will push south along the northwest bulge of Africa, while the uncertain winds where the Northeast trades meet the Southeast trades (the doldrums) [6] leave a sailing ship to the mercy of the currents. Together, prevalent current and wind make northwards progress very difficult or impossible. It was to overcome this problem and clear the passage to India around Africa as a viable maritime trade route, that a systematic plan of exploration was devised by the Portuguese. The return route from regions south of the Canaries became the 'volta do largo' or 'volta do mar'. The 'rediscovery' of the Azores islands in 1427 is merely a reflection of the heightened strategic importance of the islands, now sitting on the return route from the western coast of Africa (sequentially called 'volta de Guiné' and 'volta da Mina'); and the references to the Sargasso Sea (also called at the time 'Mar da Baga'), to the west of the Azores, in 1436, reveals the western extent of the return route.[7] This is necessary, under sail, to make use of the southeasterly and northeasterly winds away from the western coast of Africa, up to the northern latitudes where the westerly winds will bring the seafarers towards the western coasts of Europe.[8]
The secrecy involving the Portuguese navigations, with the death penalty for the leaking of maps and routes, concentrated all sensitive records in the Royal Archives, completely destroyed by the
The
Although Juan Ponce de León in 1513 first identified the Gulf Stream, and the current was well known to mariners, Benjamin Franklin made the first scientific study of it and gave it its name. Franklin measured water temperatures during several Atlantic crossings and correctly explained the Gulf Stream's cause. Franklin and Timothy Folger printed the first map of the Gulf Stream in 1769–1770.[13][14]
Information on the currents of the
Sir James Clark Ross took the first modern sounding in deep sea in 1840, and Charles Darwin published a paper on reefs and the formation of atolls as a result of the second voyage of HMS Beagle in 1831–1836. Robert FitzRoy published a four-volume report of Beagle's three voyages. In 1841–1842 Edward Forbes undertook dredging in the Aegean Sea that founded marine ecology.
The first superintendent of the United States Naval Observatory (1842–1861), Matthew Fontaine Maury devoted his time to the study of marine meteorology, navigation, and charting prevailing winds and currents. His 1855 textbook Physical Geography of the Sea was one of the first comprehensive oceanography studies. Many nations sent oceanographic observations to Maury at the Naval Observatory, where he and his colleagues evaluated the information and distributed the results worldwide.[16]
Modern oceanography
Knowledge of the oceans remained confined to the topmost few fathoms of the water and a small amount of the bottom, mainly in shallow areas. Almost nothing was known of the ocean depths. The British Royal Navy's efforts to chart all of the world's coastlines in the mid-19th century reinforced the vague idea that most of the ocean was very deep, although little more was known. As exploration ignited both popular and scientific interest in the polar regions and Africa, so too did the mysteries of the unexplored oceans.
The seminal event in the founding of the modern science of oceanography was the 1872–1876
In the late 19th century, other Western nations also sent out scientific expeditions (as did private individuals and institutions). The first purpose-built oceanographic ship, Albatros, was built in 1882. In 1893, Fridtjof Nansen allowed his ship, Fram, to be frozen in the Arctic ice. This enabled him to obtain oceanographic, meteorological and astronomical data at a stationary spot over an extended period.
In 1881 the geographer
The first acoustic measurement of sea depth was made in 1914. Between 1925 and 1927 the "Meteor" expedition gathered 70,000 ocean depth measurements using an echo sounder, surveying the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
In 1934,
Sverdrup, Johnson and Fleming published
The Great Global Rift, running along the Mid Atlantic Ridge, was discovered by
In the 1950s, Auguste Piccard invented the bathyscaphe and used the bathyscaphe Trieste to investigate the ocean's depths. The United States nuclear submarine Nautilus made the first journey under the ice to the North Pole in 1958. In 1962 the FLIP (Floating Instrument Platform), a 355-foot (108 m) spar buoy, was first deployed.
In 1968, Tanya Atwater led the first all-woman oceanographic expedition. Until that time, gender policies restricted women oceanographers from participating in voyages to a significant extent.
From the 1970s, there has been much emphasis on the application of large scale computers to oceanography to allow numerical predictions of ocean conditions and as a part of overall environmental change prediction. Early techniques included analog computers (such as the
1990 saw the start of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) which continued until 2002. Geosat seafloor mapping data became available in 1995.
Study of the oceans is critical to understanding shifts in
In general, understanding the world ocean through further scientific study enables better stewardship and sustainable utilization of Earth's resources.[27] The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission reports that 1.7% of the total national research expenditure of its members is focused on ocean science.[28]
Branches
The study of oceanography is divided into these five branches:
Biological oceanography
Biological oceanography investigates the ecology and biology of marine organisms in the context of the physical, chemical and geological characteristics of their ocean environment.
Chemical oceanography
Chemical oceanography is the study of the
Ocean acidification
Ocean acidification describes the decrease in ocean
An important element for the
The current rate of ocean chemistry change seems to be unprecedented in Earth's geological history, making it unclear how well marine ecosystems will adapt to the shifting conditions of the near future.[39] Of particular concern is the manner in which the combination of acidification with the expected additional stressors of higher ocean temperatures and lower oxygen levels will impact the seas.[40]
Geological oceanography
Geological oceanography is the study of the geology of the ocean floor including plate tectonics and paleoceanography.
Physical oceanography
Physical oceanography studies the ocean's physical attributes including temperature-salinity structure, mixing,
Seismic Oceanography
Ocean currents
Since the early ocean expeditions in oceanography, a major interest was the study of ocean currents and temperature measurements. The
- Examples of sustained currents are the western boundary currents.
Ocean heat content
Paleoceanography
Paleoceanography is the study of the history of the oceans in the geologic past with regard to circulation, chemistry, biology, geology and patterns of sedimentation and biological productivity. Paleoceanographic studies using environment models and different proxies enable the scientific community to assess the role of the oceanic processes in the global climate by the reconstruction of past climate at various intervals. Paleoceanographic research is also intimately tied to palaeoclimatology.
Oceanographic institutions
The earliest international organizations of oceanography were founded at the turn of the 20th century, starting with the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea created in 1902, followed in 1919 by the Mediterranean Science Commission. Marine research institutes were already in existence, starting with the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn in Naples, Italy (1872), the Biological Station of Roscoff, France (1876), the Arago Laboratory in Banyuls-sur-mer, France (1882), the Laboratory of the Marine Biological Association in Plymouth, UK (1884), the Norwegian Institute for Marine Research in Bergen, Norway (1900), the Laboratory für internationale Meeresforschung, Kiel, Germany (1902). On the other side of the Atlantic, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography was founded in 1903, followed by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 1930, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in 1938, the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University in 1949, and later the School of Oceanography at University of Washington. In Australia, the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), established in 1972 soon became a key player in marine tropical research.
In 1921 the
Related disciplines
- Biogeochemistry – Study of chemical cycles of the earth that are either driven by or influence biological activity
- Biogeography – Study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time
- Climatology – Scientific study of climate, defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of time
- Coastal geography – Study of the region between the ocean and the land
- Environmental science – The integrated, quantitative, and interdisciplinary approach to the study of environmental systems.
- Geophysics – Physics of the Earth and its vicinity
- Glaciology – Scientific study of ice and natural phenomena involving ice
- Hydrography – Applied science of measurement and description of physical features of bodies of water
- Hydrology – Science of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets
- Limnology – Science of inland aquatic ecosystems
- Meteorology – Interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere focusing on weather forecasting
- MetOcean– The syllabic abbreviation of meteorology and (physical) oceanography.
See also
- Anoxic event – Historic oxygen depletion events in Earth's oceans
- Anoxic waters – Areas of sea water, fresh water, or groundwater that are depleted of dissolved oxygen
- Argo (oceanography) – International oceanographic observation program
- Astrooceanography– Study of extraterrestrial oceans
- Bathymetric chart – Map depicting the submerged terrain of bodies of water
- Cabled observatory – Seabed oceanographic research platforms connected to the surface by undersea cables
- Ecological forecasting – forecasting the responses of ecological systems to changing environment
- List of ocean circulation models – Models used in physical oceanography.
- List of seas
- List of submarine topographical features – Oceanic landforms and topographic elements.
- Maritime archaeology – Archaeological study of human interaction with the sea
- Marine current power – Extraction of power from ocean currents
- Marine engineering – Engineering and design of shipboard systems
- Naval architecture – Engineering discipline dealing with the design and construction of marine vessels
- Ocean colonization – Type of ocean claim
- Oceans Act of 2000 – US law to establish policy on the oceans
- Ocean optics
- Ocean color
- Offshore construction – Installation of structures and facilities in a marine environment
- Outline of oceanography – Hierarchical outline list of articles related to oceanography
- Planetary oceanography – Study of extraterrestrial oceans
- Sea level – Geographical reference point from which various heights are measured
- Ocean chemistry
References
- ^ "A History Of The Study Of Marine Biology ~ MarineBio Conservation Society". 17 June 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
- ^ MacTutor History of Mathematics archive(retrieved 13/06/2020)
- ^ W.G.L. Randles, "Pedro Nunes and the Discovery of the Loxodromic Curve, or How, in the 16th Century, Navigating with a Globe had Failed to Solve the Difficulties Encountered with the Plane Chart", Revista da Universidade Coimbra, 35 (1989), 119–30.
- ^ Pedro Nunes Salaciense, Tratado da Esfera, cap. 'Carta de Marear com o Regimento da Altura' p.2 - https://archive.org/details/tratadodaspherac00sacr/page/n123/mode/2up (retrieved 13/06/2020)
- ^ http://ksuweb.kennesaw.edu/~jdirnber/oceanography/LecuturesOceanogr/LecCurrents/LecCurrents.html (retrieved 13/06/2020)
- ^ https://kids.britannica.com/students/assembly/view/166714 (retrieved 13/06/2020)
- ^ ISBN 978-989-689-656-0
- ^ "Map" (PDF). upload.wikimedia.org. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
- ^ Carlos Viegas Gago Coutinho, A Viagem de Bartolomeu Dias, Anais (Clube Militar Naval) May 1946
- ^ Carlos Viegas Gago Coutinho, As Primeiras Travessia Atlanticas - lecture, Academia Portuguesa de História, 22/04/1942 - in: Anais (APH) 1949, II serie, vol.2
- ^ Luis Adao da Fonseca, Pedro Alvares Cabral - Uma Viagem, INAPA, Lisboa, 1999, p.48
- ^ Wolff, Torben (1969). Danish Expeditions on the Seven Seas. Copenhagen: Rhodos.
- ^ "1785: Benjamin Franklin's 'Sundry Maritime Observations'". Archived from the original on 18 December 2005.
- ^ Wilkinson, Jerry. History of the Gulf Stream 1 January 2008
- ^ Lee, Sidney, ed. (1896). . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 48. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
- ISBN 0-8135-0433-3
- ^ Then and Now: The HMS Challenger Expedition and the 'Mountains in the Sea' Expedition, Ocean Explorer website (NOAA), accessed 2 January 2012
- ^ ISBN 978-1-85728-705-9.
- ^ Oceanography: an introduction to the marine environment (Peter K. Weyl, 1970), p. 49
- ^ "Sir John Murray (1841–1914) – Founder Of Modern Oceanography". Science and Engineering at The University of Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 28 May 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
- ^ Williams, J. Francon (1881) The Geography of the Oceans: Physical, Historical, and Descriptive George Philip & Son.
- OCLC 561275070
- ^ John Francon Williams commemorated (article) (Alloa Advertiser, retrieved 26 September 2019): https://www.alloaadvertiser.com/news/17928655.long-awaiting-tribute-pioneering-writer-buried-clacks/
- ^ Otto Krümmel (1907). "Handbuch der Ozeanographie". J. Engelhorn.
- ^ "Women passes test; become oceanographer". The Whittier News. 10 May 1934. p. 13. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- Prentice-Hall.
- ^ "Oceanography | science". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
- p. 16. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- (PDF) from the original on 4 June 2007.
- EPA. 13 September 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
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- OCLC 730413873.
- ^ a b "Ocean acidification". Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population & Communities: Australian Antarctic Division. 28 September 2007. Retrieved 17 April 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-314-06339-7.
- ^ "What is Ocean Acidification?". NOAA PMEL Carbon Program. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
- S2CID 4306199. Archived from the original(PDF) on 25 June 2008.
- hdl:1912/3179.
- S2CID 6361097.
- PMID 21502171.
- ^ IPCC (2013). Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis (PDF) (Report). Cambridge University Press. p. 8. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 October 2014.
- ^ Laura Snider (13 January 2021). "2020 was a record-breaking year for ocean heat - Warmer ocean waters contribute to sea level rise and strengthen storms". National Center for Atmospheric Research.
Sources and further reading
- Boling Guo, Daiwen Huang. Infinite-Dimensional Dynamical Systems in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science, 2014, World Scientific Publishing,
- Hamblin, Jacob Darwin (2005) Oceanographers and the Cold War: Disciples of Marine Science. University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0-295-98482-7
- Lang, Michael A., Ian G. Macintyre, and Klaus Rützler, eds. Proceedings of the Smithsonian Marine Science Symposium. Smithsonian Contributions to the Marine Sciences, no. 38. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press (2009)
- Roorda, Eric Paul, ed. The Ocean Reader: History, Culture, Politics (Duke University Press, 2020) 523 pp. online review
- Steele, J., K. Turekian and S. Thorpe. (2001). Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences. San Diego: Academic Press. (6 vols.) ISBN 0-12-227430-X
- Sverdrup, Keith A., Duxbury, Alyn C., Duxbury, Alison B. (2006). Fundamentals of Oceanography, McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0-07-282678-9
- Russell, Joellen Louise. Easter Ellen Cupp, 2000, Regents of the University of California.
External links
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory – Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center (PO.DAAC). A data centre responsible for archiving and distributing data about the physical state of the ocean.
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography. One of the world's oldest, largest, and most important centres for ocean and Earth science research, education, and public service.
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). One of the world's largest private, non-profit ocean research, engineering and education organizations.
- British Oceanographic Data Centre. A source of oceanographic data and information.
- NOAA Ocean and Weather Data Navigator. Plot and download ocean data.
- Freeview Video 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Deep Deep Sea' Oceanography Programme by the Vega Science Trust and the BBC/Open University.
- Atlas of Spanish Oceanography by InvestigAdHoc.
- Glossary of Physical Oceanography and Related Disciplines by Steven K. Baum, Department of Oceanography, Texas A&M University
- Barcelona-Ocean.com . Inspiring Education in Marine Sciences
- CFOO: Sea Atlas. A source of oceanographic live data (buoy monitoring) and education for South African coasts.
- Oceanography on In Our Time at the BBC
- Memorial website for USNS Bowditch, USNS Dutton, USNS Michelson and USNS H. H. Hess