History of Ocean Research Lesson 1.1:

Learning Goals:1. I can explain the major influences on the

history of oceanography and ocean research.

2. I can determine a location from a given latitude & longitude.

1st Sea Voyage Earliest recorded sea voyage took place

around 3200 B.C. in EgyptTook 1st ocean depth measurements

Maps Ancient Greeks developed 1st maps (250 B.C. – 200 A.D.)Development of the latitude/longitude

system

Latitude & Longitude Latitude:

parallel to the equator (N – S)O0 is at the equator90o is at the poles

Longitude: pole- to- pole (E – W) Oo is called the prime meridian in

Greenwich, England at the Royal Naval Observatory

Compass Chinese invented the compass (1125)300 yrs later it began being used in

Europe

Major Expeditions *READ ONLY 1492 Christopher Columbus voyage to the

Caribbean to discover the Americas Early 1500’s Vasco Nunez de Balboa crossed

the Isthmus of Panama in Central American to discover the Pacific Ocean

1522 Ferdinand Magellan sailed across the Pacific to discover the Philippine Islands

1577 Francis Drake sailed from England to the tip of South America

Major Expeditions *READ ONLY Captain James Cook (1768):

1st voyage sailed from England to Tahiti, New Zealand, and Australia

2nd voyage to Southern tip of Africa and Antarctic circle, but never found Antarctica

3rd voyage to Hawaii & the Bering strait

Chronometer Invented by John Harrison (1735)Allowed sailors to determine their exact

longitude

Ocean Research *READ ONLY The ocean was used for trade/travel &

military but was not studied before the 1800’s

One of the 1st scientists to use the ocean for research:

Charles Darwin HMS Beagle (1831)Coastline of South America, through the

South Pacific, to the Southern tip of AfricaMost famous stop: Galapagos Islands

Ocean ResearchHMS Challenger I

1st expedition dedicated entirely to marine science in 1872

2 Major Scientists = Charles Wyville Thompson & Sir John Murray

Documented temperature, currents, weather, water quality, depth, marine organisms, and sediment samples (4,717 species were cataloged and identified!)

(NASA named its 2nd space shuttle in its honor for its achievements!)