HISTORY OF OCEANOGRAPHY, Part 2: Development of Modern Oceanography

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HISTORY OF OCEANOGRAPHY,Part 2Development of
Modern Oceanography

• GEOL 1033

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DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN OCEANOGRAPHY

• Shallow areas of high traffic needed depth
  studies (sounding refers to determining water
  depth) were well-charted for safety and
  navigation
• Deep oceans were poorly known until late 1800s
• Some soundings by explorers as early as 1500 (de
  la Cosa)
• James Ross' soundings (early 1800'S)
• Little incentive
• Hard work long, wet, heavy ropes weight
• This changed with the Challenger Expedition of
  1872-1876!
• Challenger used a steam engine to run a winch
  piano wire replaced rope
• Eventually, the economic incentive came from need
  to lay submarine telegraph cables between N A
  Europe

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DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN OCEANOGRAPHY - Challenger
Expedition

• John Murray and Charles Thomson conceived this
  first sailing expedition devoted entirely to
  oceanographic science
• They coined the term 'oceanography'
• The 4-year Challenger voyage was a milestone in
  the history of marine science.

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DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN OCEANOGRAPHY - Challenger
Expedition

• 226' x 36' Sailing ship (2,306 ton corvette),
  auxiliary steam engine
• Several 1 000 m cable covered most of deck
• Travelled 130 000 km- Atlantic, Pacific, Indian,
  Antarctic oceans
• Enormous biological collections of pelagic
  benthic organisms
• 5 000 new species discovered by this one
  expedition!
• Proved that life existed in deep ocean.
• Dredged seafloor for organisms, rocks,
  sediments
• Collected data on atmosphere, weather, and
  physical chemical properties of seawater
• Obtained extensive data on bathymetry of the
  seafloor
• Discovered the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
• the Marianas Trench

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DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN OCEANOGRAPHY

• During next 50 years (late 1800's-early 1900's),
  many nations copied Britain with own deep-sea
  expeditions
• For example, Germany, Russia, Austria, USA,
  Norway, Denmark
• Motivations included fisheries, commerce, naval
  activities, transoceanic communication cables
• Non-governmental governmental funding of
  research
• Some international cooperation developed
• Evolution from descriptive to more quantitative
  science
• New instruments developed for depth, temperature,
  salinity
• USA
• Albatross - Pacific Ocean, 1888-1920
• Blake - Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean,
  1887-1890, included
• Alex. Agassiz became a famous biologist
• Chas. Sigsbee became a famous geologist

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DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN OCEANOGRAPHY

• Norwegian Fram under Nansen studied Arctic,
  1893-1898
• Nansen invented a marine water sampling device,
  now called a Nansen bottle.
• Fram was a specially engineered wooden ship
• 1.2m-thick hull
• 3 years intentionally frozen and drifted in polar
  ice
• 5-year voyage firmly established Nansen's ideas
  that
• No Polar continent
• Arctic Ocean was a major ocean basin.
• German Meteor Expedition (1925-1927)
• Very modern studies of South Atlantic Ocean,
  including
• Sediment studies
• Chemical properties of seawater
• Physical properties of seawater
• Topography of seafloor
• Initiated continuous echo sounder (PDR) where
  sound travel time was used to calculate water
  depths, so a depth profile established along
  ship's route.

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DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN OCEANOGRAPHY

• Later major British expeditions
• Antarctic Ocean and later all ocean deep-sea
  studies
• Discovery I - 1925-1927
• Discovery II - 1930
• Discovery III - Later 1900's
• Initial incentive was the whale industry
• USA eventually lagged behind world, so
  established during the 1920's
• WHOI (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute)
• Scripps Institute of Oceanography at La Jolla,
  California (Began as a biological field station
  in 1912.)

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DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN OCEANOGRAPHY

• An aerial view of Woods Hole (June 1985) showing
  a complex of oceanographic research facilities
  including
• the National Marine Fisheries Service,
• the Marine Biology Laboratory, and
• the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.

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DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN OCEANOGRAPHY

• Aerial view of part of the campus and pier of the
  Scripps Oceanographic Institute

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DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN OCEANOGRAPHY

• World War II
• Tremendous increase in interest in oceans by many
  nations during after the war
• Motivations
• Warfare (ship, submarine, mine fields, amphibious
  activities)
• Advances in technology
• Greater awareness of natural disasters
• Much learned
• Post-war era
• Many international political changes Cold War
  began
• Stimulated continuous studies of oceans
• Government funding of research became very
  important
• Seismic studies of oceanic crust initiated
• Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO)
  established in late 1940's at Columbia University
  in New York

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DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN OCEANOGRAPHY

• Mohole Project (USA)
• Late 1950's to early 1960's
• Purpose drill core through crust to upper
  mantle
• Thinner crust in ocean basins
• Had to develop new technology
• Deep-water drilling
• Ship stability
• Terminated because
• Costs were too high
• Recession of late 1950s
• Led to JOIDES
• Joint Oceanographic Institutions for Deep Earth
  Sampling
• Cooperative efforts of scientists of different
  U.S. institutions
• Reduce costs of oceanographic research
• Not waste new technology developed by Mohole
  Project
• Still do some limited deep-sea upper crustal
  drilling sampling

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DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN OCEANOGRAPHY

• Deep Sea Drilling Program (DSDP)
• Initiated by JOIDES in 1964
• Commissioned the Glomar Challenger 1968
• Seabed cores totalled 96 km end-to-end
• Sampled bottom sediments, rocks, etc.
• Conducted other concurrent studies
• Determined Earth's recent long-term climate
  changes
• Confirmed theory of seafloor spreading major
  contribution!
• Ocean Margin Drilling Program (OMDP)
• 10-year project during the 1980's
• Less costly than DSDP
• Focussed on N A continental margins (application
  oriented)
• Commissioned a new, more modern ship, the Glomar
  Explorer

400' long
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DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN OCEANOGRAPHY

• 1960's 1970's
• On-board computers revolutionized research at sea
• Dangers of marine pollution became widely
  recognized
• Need for broad marine policies and management
  recognized
• Use of satellites for navigation remote sensing
  of oceans
• International cooperation programs increased
  from late 1950's
• Because of the
• High costs of marine research
• Recession during late 1950's
• International Geophysical Year (IGY)
• 1957-8
• Multi-national efforts
• Included oceanographic research
• International Decade of Ocean Exploration (IDOE)
• 1970's
• Geochemical, biological, water circulation,
  environmental studies
• Seabed mineral assessment
• Led to GEOSECS

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DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN OCEANOGRAPHY

• Geochemical Ocean Section Study (GEOSECS)
• Chemical properties of seawater
• Mid-Ocean Dynamics Experiment (MODE)
• Studied water movements
• Seabed Assessment Program
• Studied mineral petroleum occurrences in the
  oceans
• Coastal Upwelling Project
• High biological productivity in 1 of ocean's
  area
• International Geodynamics Project
• 1970's
• Studied plate tectonics
• led to FAMOUS
• FAMOUS
• 1970's
• France USA
• Studied Mid-Atlantic Ridge with manned
  submersibles
• Much was see firsthand and much learned about
  mid-ocean ridge rift valleys

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DEVELOPMENT OF MODERN OCEANOGRAPHY

• Ocean Drilling Program (ODP)
• 1980's outgrowth of OMDP DSDP
• Need to share the growing cost of ocean research
• Annual membership fee of 3 million
• USA plus other countries Great Britain, Japan,
  West Germany, France, USSR (later dropped out),
  Canada (1983), consortia of smaller nations
  sharing annual fee
• Canada later dropped to a 3-nation consortia
• New, bigger, better drilling ship built in Canada
  (JOIDES Resolution) that can operate in worse
  weather, drill where hydrocarbons may be present,
  and in Arctic ice conditions
• After about 18 years of high-seas research
  expeditions, ODP is to end with Leg 210.

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Future Deep-Sea Drilling?

• Yes, the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program
  (IODP) will replace ODP.
• The Resolution may be still used for awhile, but
  a new, bigger, and better ship is planned.
• Proposals include drilling for petroleum in
  deep-water areas.
• 22 nations will contibute 406 million to support
  the first 5 years of the program
• Research will include investigation of gas
  hydrates, climate dynamics (including the
  Arctic), continental margins, petroleum
  resources, the subsurface biosphere, earthquake
  phenomena, mineral deposits associated with the
  formation of oceanic lithosphere at mid-ocean
  ridges
• This is timely for Canada with its young offshore
  oil and gas program in Atlantic Canada.
• Canada needs about 31 million to participate
  during the first 5 years.

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Future?

• More international cooperation cost sharing of
  basic research, e. g., IODP
• More industry involvement in basic oceanographic
  research
• Greater use of manned unmanned submersibles
• More applied research uses for
  remote-controlled vehicles and cameras - safer
• Greater use of satellites for navigation, remote
  sensing, weather prediction, basic research, etc.
• Greater emphasis on applied research energy,
  climate, coastal zones, biological productivity,
  environmental problems, mineral petroleum
  exploration exploitation, international laws of
  the sea, marine engineering

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