history of marine science

History of Marine Science

• It is difficult to provide a thorough history of oceanography (or any science field for that matter) because we are limited by written history since many scientific advances pre-date written records and were passed down orally.

• Furthermore, many advances were made by “common people” that lacked the social or socioeconomic status that would ensure their names would be remembered.

• Finally, in accrediting individuals with certain accomplishments, we are ignoring the fact that the science is a social activity

Terminology

• C.E. (Common Era) is the same as A.D. (Anno Domini)

• B.C.E. (Before Common Era) is the same as B.C. (Before Christ)

540-530 BCE

Homo sapiens sapiens

• Based on fossil evidence in Ethiopia, modern humans first existed around 195,000 B.C.E.

• Arrived by boat to Australia from Southeast Asia around 40-60,000 B.C.E

Early Civilizations• These civilizations (4000

B.C.E.) are important because many others, like the Greeks, built upon their scientific advances

• Mesopotamia (current Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran)

• Sub-Sahara Africa (along the Nile River)

• Egypt

Early exploration

• Pacific Islanders traveled long distances (3000 B.C.E. )

On the other side of the world…

• Phoenicians (2000 B.C.E.)• - Sailed Mediterranean and Black Seas• - Later, they sailed around Africa and British

Isles

• Arab and Indian (2000 B.C.E.)• - Navigators master the trade and monsoon

winds in the Indian Ocean

The Moon Determines Tides

• Accredited to the Greeks but this was known by the pre-historic Maori of New Zealand and Babylonians in 2000 B.C.E.

The Greeks

• Spherical earth concept attributed to Pythagoras (600 B.C.E.)

• Pytheas traveled to England, Scandinavia and Arctic ice pack (325 B.C.E.)

• Eratosthenes estimates circumference of Earth, longitude and latitude

• Quick Write• - How long have Homo sapiens existed?• - What terminology do we use for BC and

AD?• - How long ago were Mesopotamia, Sub-

Sahara Africa and Egypt established?• -What was accomplished by the

Phoenicians, Arabs and Indians, and Maori?• - Name 1 Greek scientist and his

contribution

• Iceland and Greenland 800-900 C.E.

• Leif Eriksson sailed to Vinland (North America) 995 C.E. (about 500 years before Columbus!!!)

• Greenland settlements abandoned by 1450 C.E.

Vikings Explore N. Atlantic Ocean

• Prince Henry the Navigator collated data of the Africa coastline for Portugal in order to identify a trade route to India

• Vasco da Gama sails to India around the tip of Africa to establish the Portuguese trade route

• Juan Sebastian del Cano (navigator for Magellan) circumnavigates the globe for Portugal

• ****** All of these feats were done with the aid of many anonymous sailors of the Mediterranean and Asian seas that were kidnapped for their knowledge

The “Age of Discovery” (for wealth and conquest) in Europe 1492-1522 C.E.

Voyages of Columbus and Magellan

Fig. 1.7

• Capt. James Cook (1728-1779)

• Ships HMS Endeavour, Resolution, Adventure

• Mapped many islands in Pacific (info taken from native sailors)

• Systematically measured ocean characteristics

More exploration for conquest

Cook’s voyages

Fig. 1.8

English Oceanography in the 1800’s

• Darwin sails on the HMS Beagle (1831-1836 C.E.)

• evidence for theory of natural selection

• Wyville Thomson explored deep ocean (1868 C.E.) and found life at 1200m (3937ft)

• John Murry and Thomson sail on the HMS Challenger- discovered over 4700 new species, studied water temps and current patterns- 1872 C.E.

Crinoid or “sea lily” found at shallow and deep waters

Current Leading Research Centers

• CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research in Australia

• Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, CA

• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Cap Cod, MA

• School of Oceanography, Univ of Washington, Seattle

• National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, England

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) all over the US