History of Oceanography

By amandateubner

  • Discovery of the Continental Shelf

    The continental shelf break and continental slope were discovered (scientific research).

  • The First Known Submarine Valley Discovered

    James Alden discovered California's Monterey Canyon which is a long, deep depression in the ocean floor (navigation).

  • The First Map of the Ocean Floor

    The Meteor, a German vessel, sailed around the Atlantic Ocean and used echo-sounding equipment to gather detailed measurements of the ocean floor in order to create a map (navigation).

  • Invention of the Sonobuoy

    The Sonobuoy, the first offshore automatic telemetering radio instrument, eliminated the need for manned station ships during navigation operations (navigation).

  • Discovery of a Live Coelacanth

    Off the coast of South Africa a coelacanth fish, thought to be extinct around the time of the dinosaurs, was found alive (scientific research).

  • Crustacean Discovered

    The Navy identified the crackling sound that interfered with submarine detection to be a result of crustacean and discovered a way to mimic the sound to better conceal the submarines from the enemy (military).

  • The Discovery of Swell Height and Surf Prediction

    Walter Munk and Harald Sverdrup discovered swell height and were able to predict the surf which allowed the Navy to plan their Allied landings on Normandy Beach and the beaches of North Africa and the Pacific (military).

  • Discovery of Magnetic Striping on Ocean Floor

    The U.S. Navy and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography towed the first marine magnetometer and found magnetic striping on the seafloor off the West Coast contributing to the theory of plate tectonics (scientific research).

  • Hydrothermal Vents are Discovered

    Robert Ballard and his team discover hydrothermal vents as well as an ecosystem that survives without the sun adding to the information on chemosynthesis (scientific research).

  • Discovery of New Deep Sea Fish

    Thirty-seven specimens of the Mariana snailfish (Pseudoliparis swirei) at depths of up to 26,200ft (7,985m) were collected in the deepest part of the sea, the Mariana Trench (scientific research).