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Melinda JensenGeosciences Departmental
Office104 Wilkinson Hall
737-1238
“Just the Facts…” Over 97% of the water on the Earth is in the ocean.
The average depth of the ocean is about 4000 meters.
The Mariana Trench is 11,022 m deep, the deepest spot on the planet.– 8 tons per sq. in.– Mt. Everest is “only” ~8667 m above sea level
“Just the Facts…” Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii, measures ~10,600 m from the ocean floor, making it the tallest mountain on the planet (surpassing even Mt. Everest).
If the Earth’s land surface was leveled to a smooth ball, the ocean would cover it to a depth of 2686 m.
“Just the Facts…” The ocean contains some 5 trillion tons of salts– If dried and spread evenly, that mass would cover the entire planet to a depth of 45 m.
On a planetary scale the ocean is insignificant.– Its average depth is a tiny fraction of the Earth’s radius.
Why Study the Ocean? Major influence on weather and climate
Source of food, energy, medical drugs
Transportation Military significance Recreational resource Major influence on the health of the planet
Culture and history
Historical Reviewof Oceanography
The 18th century was marked by–Improvements in navigation and mapping
–Accumulation of data for charts
Temperature, currents
In Britain, James Cook (1768-1779)–Constructed charts of coastlines especially for the South Pacific
–Secondary discovery the Hawaiian Islands
In the 19th century curiosity about the oceans increased and voyages for scientific purposes were initiated.
Charles Darwin: British naturalist– Voyage of the Beagle (1831-1836), studied geology and biology of the South American coastline
Developed theory of organic evolution based on natural selection
Published On the Origin of the Species (1859)
$1200!
Edward Forbes: British naturalist (1815-1854)– Proposed the hypothesis that no life (azoic) existed in the oceans below 550 m
– “Deserts in the ocean”
Matthew Fontaine Maury: U.S. naval officer– Compiled information on winds and currents
– Published The Physical Geography of the Sea (1855)
– “Father of physical oceanography”
C. Wyville Thompson: British explorer– Directed the Challenger Expedition (1872-1876)
First major scientific expedition Globe-encircling voyage Chemical, physical, and biological measurements and collections
Disproved Edward Forbes “azoic theory” by collecting sea life from waters as deep as 9000 m
Modern Oceanography Major interdisciplinary expeditions e.g., the Meteor Expedition: German (1925-1927)
– Bottom topography– Vertical profiles of salinity, temperature, oxygen
Subsequent growth, World War II, urgent need for information on the physical structure of the oceans
Geological Oceanography
(Marine Geology)
Study of rocks and sediments & processes responsible for their
formation.
Study of rock structure within an ocean basin,
properties of rocks such as magnetism, occurrence of
earthquakes.
Geological Oceanography
(Marine Geophysics)
September 29, 20096:48 a.m. local time, M8.19 deaths in Tonga, 149 in Samoa, 39 in
American SamoaDeadliest in history, $150 million damage
September 29, 20096:48 a.m. local time, M8.19 deaths in Tonga, 149 in Samoa, 39 in
American SamoaDeadliest in history, $150 million damage
Sandwell & Smith Estimated Bathymetry, v. 12.1, ve = 6
Physical Oceanography
How and why ocean currents flow, air-sea interactions such as the generation of waves by
the wind.
Chemical Oceanography
Composition of sea water and the processes controlling and
altering its composition, including marine pollution.
Biological Oceanography(Marine Biology, Marine
Ecology)
Organisms that live in the oceans and their relationships
to the environment.
Research at Research at specialized marine specialized marine institutionsinstitutions, as well as , as well as universities, and state and universities, and state and federal agenciesfederal agencies
Emphasis on interdisciplinary, Emphasis on interdisciplinary, processprocess-oriented research and -oriented research and international cooperationinternational cooperation
Modern Oceanography (Cont.)
19031903www.sio.ucsd.eduwww.sio.ucsd.edu
19301930www.whoi.eduwww.whoi.edu
19491949www.ldeo.columbia.eduwww.ldeo.columbia.edu
Current and Future Oceanographic Research
greater focus on internationalinternational efforts and large scale interdisciplinary expeditions– Many scientists– Many ships
“remote sensing” “unmanned” platforms
National Polar-orbiting Operational Environment Satellite System (NPOESS), a next-generation platform for weather and climate.
Seasat-A, the first oceanographic satellite, was launched in 1978.