Course overview

1
Introduction

• Course overview
• History of Oceanography

2
Course web page

• bohr.winthrop.edu
• Click on Courses on left column
• Find GEOL 220 link
• Syllabus, topic outlines, schedule, etc.

3
Interdisciplinary

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Physics
• Geology
• Geography
• Political Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science

4
History of Oceanography

• Early
• Age of Discovery
• Science and the Oceans
• Modern Oceanography
• Different motivations at different times

5
Early history

• Reasons trade, fishing, defense
• Self centered view of Earth
• Examples

6
Early history (2)

• Difficult to navigate without shorelines
• Phoenicians (approx. 1000 BC)
• Polynesians (300-600 AD most important)

7
Early history (3)

• Greeks (approx. 500 BC)
• Erasthosthenes (working in Egypt) circumference
  of earth
• Pliny the Elder phases of moon and tides
• Ptolemy (approx. 150 AD) vast ocean, used lat
  and long
• Middle Ages very little exploration except
• Vikings (approx. 1000 AD)
• Arabs

8
Age of Discovery (1)

• Travel for economic, political and religious
  reasons
• Portugal
• Prince Henry
• Dias (1497)
• Vasco Da Gama (1498)

9
Age of Discovery (2)

• Spain
• Columbus (1492)
• Vespucci (1500)
• Balboa (1513)
• Magellan (1522)

10
Age of Discovery (3)

• Discovery with some science
• James Cook (1768-1780)
• Endeavour, Resolution, Adventure
• Ben Franklin (1769)
• Matthew F. Maury (early 1800s)

11
Purely scientific

• Challenger Expedition (1872-1876)
• Extremely significant

12
More for science

• Voyages of Nansen aboard Fram (end of 1800s)
• Meteor expedition (1925-27)

13
Modern Oceanography (since 20th century)

• International
• Interdisciplinary
• Scientific
• Complex instruments
• Modern technology

14
Modern Oceanography

• US funding
• Oceanographic institutes
• Drill ships, satellites, for example
• International cooperation