Lecture 2 Notes

What year marked the beginning of slave transport?

- 1619 - This delivery of the first ship with slaves from Africa to the United States

What were some early Greek ideas about the oceans and marine life?

- Aristotle catalogued marine organisms (~350 BC) - Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of spherical Earth (~250 BC)

Explain the importance of the oceanic expedition of Charles Darwin and the HMS Beagle

- Birds on these different Galapagos Islands that Darwin studied (Finch) - Darwin discovered that, while these finches that came from the mainland were fundamentally similar, the shapes of their birds looked different after being on these different islands - occurred due to evolution and through genetic mutation - Adaptive evolution: when a mutation favors a certain type of activity that lets you procreate, lets that mutation be favored and passed on - Thus, helps these beaks to become a little better at hunting

What did Eratosthenes do?

- Calculated the circumference of spherical Earth (~250 BC) to be at ~40,000 kilometers - His answer was correct and spot on!

what was the importance of the HMS Challenger expedition with Thompson and Murray?

- Challenge Expedition Trawl Net: They had this net that could hang off the bank of the ship with a course attached with a wire, and put it out in the deep parts of the ocean - Life was present at all depths in the sea (8000 m)

Norse Vikings during the 900 AD

- Dorset Culture (Inuit from Siberia) - Archaeological remains, e.g., this carving of a polar bear!

What peoples explored the oceans very early on?

- Egyptians and Mesopotamian Cultures and early trade (~3200 BC) - Polynesian colonization of South Pacific Islands (~4000 BC - 1000AD)

what was the Post WWII explosion in marine scientific research?

- First maps of ocean floor topography (1952) - Competition during Cold War - Key takeaway: incredible growth in oceanography because we were fighting wars (i.e., WWII: use of submarines)

what is the 1872/76: The HMS Challenger expedition Thompson and Murray?

- 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)

what is the Franklin Folger Map?

- Franklin was disappointed because letter didn't seem to come back quickly - Person who dated the mail would take many more days to arrive - Franklin figured out that ships are getting to Europe but their return trip is slow Main takeaway: mapping the Gulf Stream; Gulf Stream is fast for one portion of the trip from US to England However, the currents are very sluggish and slow on the returned direction

How do we know that the Polynesians were exploring the oceans? (Evidence)?

- Huge loss of records, therefore no well-preserved maps - Polynesian Stick Map

How did the Galapagos Islands form?

- Islands created by Volcanic islands popping up in the ocean - Tectonic activity! - Age was young (not even 2 million years)

What was the 1831/36 - HMS Beagle and Charles Darwin?

- Oceanic expeditions largely thinking about nature and science questions - That voyage and that premise of evolution came about when the ship encountered the Galapagos Islands

Oceanography Advances to 21st Century. What were some of the advents?

- The advent of satellites have greatly changed the collection and analysis of ocean data - Floats and gliders that measure (observe) in real time and send the data back to desktop computer

Norse Vikings during the 1300 AD

- Thule culture (Inuit from Canada) - New wave of migration - By 1500 AD, the Thule (Inuit) displaced Norse from Greenland

why were submarines innovative?

- Traveling in the oceans via acoustic sounding - Echo sounding as a method for imaging ocean floor - Finally are able to see on the bottom of the ocean these amazing topographic features, which we call them bathymetric features

how did sailors navigate latitude in sea?

- angle between horizon with respect to the North Star (Polaris) measured with a sextant - have some sort of external point out in space - A lot like what is GPS doing, but point it out in space super far away and it's always located in the same spot

What is the Ptolemy's Atlas of the Known World?

- circa 150 AD - Lack of accurate longitudinal measurements - Used a value for Earth's circumference of 29,000 km, which was an error!

What did Captain James Cook do in 1768/79?

- made 3 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)

What is the main takeaway of these Norse Vikings?

- there were groups from Scandinavia, and what is now Siberia, that were exploring the Arctic and colonizing Iceland and Greenland - The name "Greenland" was because the land used to be green and well-populated - However, climate change affected the colonization of Greenland as the land became white

Why is it oceanographically relevant that European sailors could travel from Europe down the coast of Africa?

- they were doing this because they could, in large part, because oceanography was making it easy for them - Ships can easily carry down to the northwest part of America by riding this blue current - Easily sail back out and ride the red blue current up towards the Equator and back into ports in Brazil - Exactly what the ships did!

why is a sextant helpful?

- very important mathematical instrument for navigating at sea - used to measure the angle between two far away objects

Every 15 degrees of longitude correspond to ...

1 hour = 1/24 of the earth's circumference

What were some monuments to honor the return from the ocean?

1. Markers: Colossus of Rhodes was one of 7 Wonders of the World - Built ~292 BC 2. Lighthouse: Pharos (lighthouse) of Alexandria was one of the 7 Wonders of the World - Built ~270 BC

What did Prince Henry do?

1420: Prince Henry founded the first school for navigation

Europeans were making their way from Europe down the coast of Africa. Why did they acquire people for?

Acquired people they were using for trade and then sailing to primarily to several places: - Brazil - Huge amount following towards the Caribbeans (tremendous amount of ships arriving in the Caribbean Islands) - Into New Orleans, Louisiana area as well as the East Coast of the US

How do we know that the Egyptians and Mesopotamians were exploring the oceans due to trading reasons (Evidence)?

Archaeological evidence Isotopic dating techniques written evidence!

What did Aristotle do?

Aristotle catalogued marine organisms (~350 BC)

Multiple Choice Question Captain Cook was the first explorer credited with using a chronometer while sailing around the ocean. How did this impact his achievements? a) it kept his crew healthy as they did not get scurvy b) it helped him find the strongest wind c) it helped him maintain an accurate heading d) Cook did not sail with a chronometer, Magellan did e) None of the above.

Correct answer is E None of the above

what is longitude?

Distance east or west of the prime meridian

what is latitude?

Distance north or south of the equator

What did the Europeans do during the 1480 to 1520?

Europeans (re)discovered the Americans and first sailed the Pacific, Indian, and Southern Oceans

What did Magellan and Drake do?

Magellan (1520) and Drake (1580) circumnavigated the Earth

Norse Vikings during the 1000 AD

Norse/Viking (Scandivanian) colonization of Iceland and then S. Greenland till last recorded wedding 1408 in this church

How did the Polynesians explore the oceans?

People capable of building boats and crossing oceans in order to be located in these islands

why was longitude incredibly difficult to measure?

That was not possible before John Harrison 1761 invented a 'watch' that did not depend on the pendulum.

What is the main takeaway of these European Exploration and Discovery?

The Portuguese, Spanish, and the Spaniards -- that peninsula sticks out into the Atlantic Ocean, so of course they're going to be oceanographers because they're all surrounded by ocean

when is the clock set to noon?

The clock is set to noon when the Sun is at its zenith above the prime meridian

Who are the Norse?

Vikings who went from Europe to Iceland to Greenland to Canada

what are Polynesian stick maps?

sticks approximate currents and swell (wave) directions, stones or shells approximate islands

As you move further North and up the globe, what is true about the angle of the sextant?

the curvature of the Earth is such that while you're at these higher latitudes, the angle of the sextant becomes larger and larger

what were some reasons to explore the oceans?

trade, curiosity = science, conquest