History of Aquatic Science

1887: Victor Hensen continued their work to help provide evidence to their claims.

Hensen improved Muller's net technology and collected a large enough sample to provide the qualitative evidence to prove Muller and Ehrenberg's work. Hensen named these small ocean drifters Plankton

Crossed the North Atlantic to colonize Iceland, Greenland & Newfoundland Believed to have reached North America 500 years before Columbus

The Vikings (793 - 1066)

Developed present day longitude and latitude

120 BC: Hipparchus

Sailed a fleet of 300 ships to trade, explore, and establish diplomacy with other governments. The Chinese decided that their wasn't much to offer better than China from other societies and soon begun their400 years of isolation

1405 - 1433 Chinese

Sailed from Spain, sailed the Atlantic and "discovered" the America's

1492: Columbus

Vasco de Gama Sailed Around Africa to establish trade routes to India but had to defeat an Arab fleet in order to gain control of the trade routes. The Portuguese eventually defeated the Arab fleet and controlled the spice trade routes

1497 - 1511 Portuguese

An interest in Earth began to flourish during the 17th century. Many Scientist began to look into the history of Earth & its oceans. 1687 Sir Isaac Newton wrote his Principia which explained the law of gravity and how the tides were governed by the pull of the sun and moon on earth 1698 Edmund Halley made a suggestion that the age of the ocean could be measured by the rate at which the rivers carry salt to the sea. This was later used to make a guess by John Jolly in 1899 but was wrong because he did not account for the recycling of salt or marine salt deposits

17th Century Voyages

: German Naturalist Christian Ehrenberg & scientist Johannes Muller began work to prove that the sea was filled with tiny organisms whose remains were being added to the ocean floor to constantly nourish it.

1846

Believed that organisms on the ocean floor were the key to the oceans history Stored his samples in alcohol and noticed that all samples were covered in a thick, mucus-like material that was a form of photoplasm Named this photoplasm, Bathybius haeckelii, after Ernst Heckel who believed this photoplasm was the primordial ooze from which all other life evolved.

1868 English Biologist Thomas Henry Huxley began to explore the oceans evolution

Alexander Agassiz funded deep ocean exploration and designed sampling equipment that helped collect thousands of specimens per voyage

1882: The U.S. Fish Commission's Albatross

Became a professor at Berkley and conducted several studies along the California coast Sparked interest with his studies and was recruited in 1903 to move his lab permanently to begin the University of California's Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

1892-1903 William F. Ritter (Agassiz's student)

Navigation became extremely important due to how much exploration had expanded. Rewards began to be offered for creating a time keeping system at sea with minimal error 1720 France established the first hydrographic office, dealing with measurements and description of bodies of water. 1735: John Harrison, a Yorkshire clockmaker, build the first chronometer & made his fourth model in 1761 that met the standards for reward money in Britain. 1768 - 1779 Captain James Cook took three voyages to chart the Pacific Ocean using John Harrison's Chronometer to correct previous charts. Discovered the Hawaiian Islands in 1778 Considered one of the founders of oceanography due to his contributions of sounding depths, accurate observations about winds, currents and water temperatures. 1762 American Ben Franklin Created a chart of the Gulf Stream to help define trade between the US and England.

18th Century Voyages

1942: The Oceans was published, by Harald U Sverdrup, Martin Johnson and Richard Fleming, as a consolidated collection of marine studies and exploration to create a resource for universities to utilize in their classrooms.

1930: The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution was established along the East Coast & helped spark a broader spectrum for marine and aquatic study

- Coast and Geodetic Survey: began seismic sea wave warning system

1950

- International Geophysical Year program explored the ocean floor and build new submersibles and research vessels

1957-1958

: Indian Ocean Expedition took place which was a multinational event.

1963 - 1964

: Reorganization of the government took place creating the Environmental Science Services Administration (ESSA) Satellite use and new research Satellite use and new research branches were established

1965

15 year project Computers were aboard ships for the first time Electronics developed for space were applied to the ocean!

1968: Deep Sea Drilling Program began sampling the Earth's crust below the sea!

Another reorganization of earth sciences took place and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, was created. Sea Grant College Program was established under NOAA Compiled of twenty-nine individual programs located in each of the coastal and Great Lake states Encouraged the cooperation in marine science and education among government, academics, and industry to make the fastest and most efficient use of time, resources, and money.

1970s

Known as the International Decade of Ocean Exploration (IDOE) Multinational effort to survey seabed mineral resources, improve environmental forecasting, investigate coastal ecosystems, and modernize/standardize the collection/analysis of marine data Deep sea vents, their animal life, and mineral restoration were discovered in the late 70s Satellite technology was released on a global scale to monitor currents, eddies, algae production, sea-level changes, waves, and thermal properties the first time creating a way to computerize prediction and patterns in the ocean.

1970s - 1980s

: Nasa's NIMBUS-7 satellite - Carries the CZCS, (Coastal Zone Color Scanner), Determines levels of biological productivity of oceans through scans of chlorophyll and phytoplankton

1978

: Navy Geodynamic Experimental Ocean Satellite (GEOSAT) launched and monitored topography, surface winds, and waves.

1985

1830: Naval Hydrographic Office was set up to explore oceans and produce better ocean and coast charts Lieutenant Matthew F Maury founded the Naval Depot of Charts (1842) & produced his first wind and current chart of the Atlantic in 1847. Took as much as 30 days off many sailing trips making traveling much more efficient and safer. Published The Physical Geography of the Sea: considered the first textbook of oceanography and made him the first true oceanographer.

19th Century

The transition from sailing to steam caused oceanography interests to shift from wind and current patterns to surveying the ocean floor.

20th Century

Mathematically calculated the circumference of the earth to be 40,000 km & realized the Earth must be curved

264 - 194 BC: Eratosthenes

Believed the oceans occupied the deepest parts of earth's surface Knew that the sun evaporated water and condensed and returned as rain (water cycle)

384 - 322 BC: Aristotle

HMS Beagle expedition began and Darwin, ship's naturalist, explored the Galapagos Islands leading to his Origin of Species publication. Also, formed the still accepted

Charles Darwin

In 1902 the International Council for Exploration of the Sea was established

Commercial Fishing fluctuations and the affects of this stimulated more oceanographic research and international cooperation

Portolanos, an atlas and Harbor-finding charts, appeared incorporating a distance scale and noting hazards.

During this time Navigation technology and knowledge increased as well.

Most early stages of marine discovery were due to hunting and gathering for food along the shores and wading in the shallows Mankind's move from inland to shorelines Paleolithic Period: 2.6 MYA Humans developed the harpoon (spearing) and the gorge (early fishing) Neolithic Period: 10,200 BC - 4,500 BC Bone fishhooks and nets were developed 5000 BC invented Copper fishhooks

Early Exploration of Sea Life

Navigation systems for these early voyages helped lay the foundation of early marine science. Celestial Navigation helped create a map for stars that were a reference point for well recorded wind patterns, currents and waves. These star maps could also help relatively locate islands, shoals, and reefs. These records helped create early documentation of the seas and oceans. These voyages also helped to make many discoveries about earth

Early Voyage Discoveries

Considered a candidate for the founder of oceanography Studied the Mediterranean and Aegean seas to collect organisms in deep water From his data, he proposed a system of ocean zones that were each characterized by specific animal life His conclusions were mostly correct except for his mistaken "azoic" zone that he presumed lifeless below 1800 ft.

Edward Forbes

Explored the Artic Ocean in an attempt to determine ice drift This expedition published findings showing drift rates, but also discovering the Artic Ocean was a deep ocean basin rather than the believed shallow sea This study laid the foundation for future artic work Nansen later studied in Antartica & created the Nansen water bottle still used today for deep sea water samples.

Fridtjof Nansen

: Global Ocean Atmosphere-Land System studies the energy transfer between the atmosphere and the tropical oceans to better understand El Nino and its effects to predict large scale climate changes.

GOALS

1507 - Amerigo Vespucci accepted South America as a separate continent rather than part of Asia 1513 - Vasco Nunez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama & found the Pacific Ocean; Also Juan Ponce de Leon discovered Florida and the Florida Current

Italians

: US Joint Global Ocean Flux Study is the largest and most complex ocean biogeochemical research program ever organized. Understand the cycling of carbon from ocean, atmosphere, and land

JGOFS

The last Greek contribution was the first world atlas was made by Ptolemy - AD 85 - 161 Although science discovery declined after this period for about 1000 years, Sea Boat technology improved to allow ships to to sail easier and for longer voyages. The Vikings became highly accomplished seamen who engaged in colonization, trade and exploration

Middle ages

1519 - Ferdinand Magellan led the 1st European expedition to circumnavigate the world 237 men began the voyage, only 18 returned Magellan died before the journey finished, but his crew returned in 1522

Portuguese

200 B.C Islamic and Arab Merchants Experienced sailors traded throughout the Mediterranean and Indian Oceans. They are believed to have invented the lateen sail (triangular sail) important in early navigation.

The Arabs

4000 BC: Organized commerce of the Nile 3200 BC: Pharaoh Snefru led the first recorded voyage at sea 2750 BC: Hannu led the earliest documented exploring expedition from Egypt to the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula and Red sea 2300 BC: Circa established sea trade throughout the Indian Ocean 1938 - 1756 BC: Built the Isthmus of Suez, a canal to navigate ships across land which operated until 775 A.D.

The Greeks wanted to explore what they called Oceanus.

450 BC: Herodotus published accurate map of Mediterranean region 336 - 325BC: Alexander the Great explored the Mediterranean and developed trade routes throughout the Mediterranean to expand the Greeks empire. 350 - 300BC: Pytheas, whom worked for Alexander, made one of the earliest recorded voyages from the Mediterranean to England. Sailed on to Scotland, Norway, and Germany. During Pytheas this made connection that tides are related to the moons & made early attempts at determining latitude and longitude.

The Greeks wanted to explore what they called Oceanus.

Sailed out of necessity for trading goods they needed due to high populations 590 BC Sailed around Africa Known for trading throughout the Mediterranean sea with North Africa, Italy, Greece, France and Spain.

The Phoenicians lived in present-day Lebanon from 1200 to 146 BC & were known as excellent Sailors & Navigators.

Other early information about the sea was collected through voyages. Information was often passed by word of mouth and not recorded. Navigation was done by staying close to shore or through a celestial system. Celestial system of navigation was done by finding one's position in reference to heavenly bodies in the sky, (stars, planets, moons, etc.)

Voyage

: World Ocean Circulation Experiment studies the world oceans to model its present state and predict ocean evolution in relation to long-term changes in the atmosphere through computer programs

WOCE

After the war oceanographers got to utilize the technology that was given to them in the war, which opened up new capabilities for study New technology also included new funding. Some of the advancements included new sonar technology, automated wave detectors, temperature-depth recorders, and radar.

WWII caused interest in oceanography to move from the classroom to the battlefront to help solve problems quickly.

Aquatic science is the multidisciplinary study of aquatic systems. Freshwater Systems: lakes, rivers, streams (Limnology) Marine Systems: seas & oceans (Marine biology; Oceanography)

What is Aquatic Science