History of Marine

Science

Important Groups of People

How did we begin to learn more and more about the ocean?

Pacific Islanders had to navigate the waters, so they developed knowledge of wind and wave patterns

The Greek – Aristotle is considered to be the first marine biologist

Vikings (led by Leif Eriksson) continued to explore the waters after the Dark Ages

Continued…

Arab traders voyaged to Africa, Asia and India - studied wind and current patterns

Phoenicians sailed the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean

Ferdinand Magellan was the first to voyage around the globe.

Charles Darwin – set out to map coastlines, but explored life on every level

The Challenger Expedition

A voyage specifically for studying the oceans

Challenger was equipped with labs, sleeping quarters and the best technology

Cartography – study of a process of making maps

Seasat

Seasat, built by NASA was the first oceanographic satellite