Introduction to Marine ScienceThe Basics

Oceans?• Name the major oceans?• Where are they?

How much of the Earth is covered?• Approximately 3/4th of the Earth’s surface is covered in water.• 97% is found in the oceans

If 1 gallon (3785ml)

represents all water on

Earth

Then

10ml of it would

represent all fresh water on

Earth

Studying the Oceans• Matthew Fontaine did the first formal

studies of the oceans.

• He was nicknamed "Pathfinder of the Seas" and "Father of Modern Oceanography and Naval Meteorology" and later, "Scientist of the Seas," due to the publication of his extensive works in his books, especially Physical Geography of the Sea (1855), the first extensive and comprehensive book on oceanography to be published.

Matthew Fontaine Maury

Sailing the Seas

• Seamanship is the sailing of boats or ships and dates back 30,000 – 40,000 years.

• Started in the area between Australia and China – known as Polynesia. Nobody’s really sure what caused the migrations, but it could have been tribal wars, diseases, search for food, volcanoes or other natural disasters.

First Seamanship

Hokule’a

Bouyancy

•A very important force allowing humans to explore the oceans is bouyancy (upward force of water) giving us the ability to float.

What does the oil float?

• Density is the amount of matter in a given amount of space.

• Items that are less dense then water, float . Items that are more dense, sink.

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)(

lVolume

gMassDensity

So metal is more dense then water how does a ship float?Answer . . .Buoyancy a.k.a. Archimedes PrincipalBuoyancy is the upward force on a floating object

Why did the Titanic sink?

• A steel ship floats because it is constructed to have many air filled compartments. The Titanic sank because its air-filled compartments filled with water after a collision with an iceberg.• The added weight of the water combined

with the weight of the ship became greater than the buoyant force supporting the ship, thus causing it to sink fast.

Titanic