Overheads:
Ancient Uses of the Oceans
Egyptian and Mesopotamian Cultures and early trade (~3200
BC)
Minoans as the first true maritime power (~2000 BC-1200 BC)
Phoenician and Greek colonization of the Mediterranean (~1200
BC - 400 BC)
Polynesian colonization of South Pacific Islands (~4000 BC - 1000
AD)
Early Developments in our Understanding of the Oceans -
I
Early Greek ideas about oceans and marine life.
Origin of science as we define it today - Thales of Miletus
(~600 BC)
Aristole catalogued marine organisms (~350 BC)
Erastosthenes calculated circumference of spherical Earth
(~250 BC)
Early Developments in our Understanding of the Oceans -
II
Technological Aids
Polynesian/Phoenician/Greek maps
Ptolemy created the first world atlas (~150 AD)
Coastal Markers
Lighthouse - Pharos (lighthouse) of Alexandria was one of
the 7 Wonders of the World
Star patterns
The Age of European Exploration and Discovery
1420 - Prince Henry founded the first school for navigation
1480 to 1520 - Europeans (re)discovered the Americans and first
sailed the Pacific, Indian, and Southern Oceans.
Magellan (1520) and Drake (1580) circumnavigated the Earth
The Modern Search for Scientific Knowledge of the Oceans
- I
1768/79 - Captain James Cook made three voyages of Scientific
discovery (HMS Resolution)
Determined the outline of Pacific Ocean
Discovered New Zealand, Australia, Hawaiian Islands
Measured surface ocean conditions
Made first accurate maps of oceans using chronometer (to
determine longitude)
The Modern Search for Scientific Knowledge of the Oceans
- II
1831/36 - HMS Beagle and Charles Darwin
1872/76 - The HMS Challenger expedition
First modern deep-ocean scientific expedition
Measured conditions of deep ocean (chemistry, temperature,
biology, bottom sediment)
Measured depth of ocean in several hundred locations with
deep ocean sounding (cannonballs and ropes)
The Modern Search for Scientific Knowledge of the Oceans
-III
1925 - The German Meteor Expedition
Mapped areas of ocean bottom using echo sounding
Post WWII explosion in marine scientific research
First maps of ocean floor topography (1952)
Theory of Plate Tectonics