Oceanography
Webpages concerning "Oceanography"
|
The contents has been generating using technology developed by scientec.
Wikipedia-Article "Oceanography"
Oceanography (from Ocean + Greek γράφειν = write), also called oceanology or marine science is the study of the Earth's oceans and seas. Oceanographers study a wide range of topics such as plate tectonics to ocean currents to marine organisms. These diverse topics reflect multiple disciplines that oceanographers blend to help us understand Planet Earth's INTERdependencies: Biology, Chemistry, Geology, Meteorology and Physics.
Contents |
Branches of Oceanography
The study of oceanography has five main branches:
- Biological oceanography or marine biology, the study of the plants and animals (biota) of the oceans and their ecological interaction;
- Chemical oceanography, the study of the chemistry of the ocean;
- Geological oceanography, the study of the geology of the ocean floor including plate tectonics;
- Meteorologic oceanography, the study of interactions between the atmosphere and the ocean's hydrosphere; and
- Physical oceanography, the study of the ocean's physical attributes
(such as its temperature-salinity structure, waves, tide and currents).
These branches reflect the fact that many oceanographers are first trained in the exact sciences
and then focus on applying thier interdisciplinary knowledge, skills and abilities to oceanography.
History of oceanography
Early exploration of the oceans was limited to its surfaces and the few creatures that fishermen brought up in nets, but when Bougainville and Cook carried out their explorations in the South Pacific, the seas themselves formed part of the reports.
James Rennell wrote the first scientific textbooks about currents in the Atlantic and Indian oceans during the late 18th and at the beginning of 19th century. Sir James Clark Ross took the first modern sounding in deep sea in 1840, and Charles Darwin published a paper on reefs and the formation of atolls.
The steep slope beyond the continental shelves was not discovered until 1849. Matthew Fontaine Maury's Physical Geography of the Sea, 1855 was the first textbook of oceanography. Laying of Transatlantic telegraph cable confirmed the presence of a mid-ocean ridge.
After the middle of the 19th century, scientific societies were processing a flood of new terrestrial botanical and zoological information. European natural historians began to sense the lack of more than anecdotal knowledge of the oceans.
Oceanography began as a quantifiable science in 1872, when Charles Wyville Thompson and John Murray launched the Challenger expedition (1872-76). Other European and American nations also sent out scientific expeditions (as did private individuals and institutions).
Oceanographic institutes dedicated to the study of oceanography were founded. In the United States, these included the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University, and the School of Oceanography at University of Washington. In Britain, there is a major research institution: National Oceanography Centre, Southampton.
The first international organization of oceanography was created in 1901 as the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.
In 1921 Monaco formed the International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB). Then in 1966, the U.S. Congress created a National Council for Marine Resources and Engineering Development. NOAA was in charge of exploring and studying all aspects of Oceanography. It also enabled the National Science Foundation to award Sea Grant College funding to multi-disciplinary researchers in the field of oceanography.
Notable oceanographers
- Jacques Cousteau
- VADM W. W. Behrens, Jr. (NOAA)
- V. Walfrid Ekman
- Evan Forde
- Gotthilf Hempel
- RADM Grace Murray Hopper USNR
- Charles David Keeling
- Sir James Lovelock (NASA Biosphere)
- Matthew Fontaine Maury (US Naval Observatory)
- Walter Munk
- Henry Stommel
- Harald Sverdrup
See also
- Hydrography
- Tidal resonance
- National Ocean Sciences Bowl
- National Weather Service
- Thermohaline_circulation
- The Global Development Alliance
- Monterey Bay Aquarium
- Naval Postgraduate School
- Oceanography: Social Network Analysis
- Sidney M. Gutierrez NASA astronaut & Director Sandia National Laboratories
- Will Steger Founder: Hamline Center for Global Environmental Education (CGEE)
Related disciplines
External link
- Timeline of Oceanography
- Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS)
- Government Technology Leadership Awards (GLTA) Program
- Oceanographers Net (Online portal for the Oceanographic community)
- National Oceanography Centre, Southampton
- Ocean Alliance: Conservation Biology
- The Oceanography Society
- NOAA Scientific Advancement Awards