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Exploration
People were becoming curious which lead to exploration of the world. Ships were now being used to travel around the sea. James cook was one of the first recorded succesful voyages. -
Founding the United States Survey of the Coast
The United States Coast Survey is founded following President Thomas Jefferson's authorization of a survey of the coast. -
Latitud and Longitud
Sir James Clark Ross takes the first modern sounding in the deep sea at Latitude 27 S Longitude 17 W. -
darwin
Darwin publishes The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs, in which he suggests that coral atolls are the final stage in the subsidence and erosion of volcanic islands. -
Alexander Dallas Bache
Alexander Dallas Bache, second superintendent of the Survey of the Coast, issues instructions for systematic surveys of the Gulf -
First Tide Prediction Tables published
First Tide Prediction Tables published. Louis F de Pourtales, of the U.S. Coast Survey, questions Forbes’ theory based on Coast Survey sounding operations that find indications of life in depths over 1000 fathoms. At the same time, irregularities were discovered in the topography off Charleston, South Carolina, leading to a theory that topography can influence the course and characteristics of the Gulf Stream -
matthew
Matthew Fontaine Maury publishes The Physical Geography of the Sea. Although incorrect in much of the science, Maury's flowing prose leads to popular interest in the oceans and the science of the sea. -
Discovered a deep submarine valley
James Madison Alden, commanding officer of the Coast Survey Steamer ACTIVE, discovered a deep submarine valley, or “gulch”, in the center of the Monterey Bay. Alden had discovered the first known sea-floor canyon, now called Monterey Canyon. -
Sounding machine
Sir William Thomson invents an operational wireline sounding machine. Modifications of this machine ultimately replace hemp-rope sounding methods. The wireline machines are faster to operate and significantly more accurate -
Louis Agassiz
The Coast Survey Steamer Hassler proceeds from the East to the West Coast via the Straits of Magellan and attempts deep-ocean dredging and other deep-sea operations along the way. The expedition is led by the famous naturalist Louis Agassiz, accompanied by Louis F. de Pourtales. Unfortunately, the hemp dredge line is defective and breaks on every deep dredging attempt. Although deep dredging operations fail, the cruise is generally successful; Louis Agassiz collects more than 30,000 specimens of -
George Belknap
The USS Tuscarora, under Commander George Belknap, uses a Thomson sounding machine on a telegraph cable to survey across the Pacific Ocean between Cape Flattery, Washington, and Japan. Belknap discovers the Juan de Fuca Ridge, indications of seamounts, and indications of the Aleutian Trench and Japan Trench. -
Thomson Sounding Machine
On November 6, the USS Gettysburg, under Captain H.H. Gorringe, discovers an undersea mountain 130 miles west of the coast of Portugal, between the Azores and the Straits of Gibraltar. The discovery occurs as the ship is conducting sounding operations with a Thomson Sounding Machine. It is not the first undersea mountain to be discovered, as the Tuscarora had sounded on a number of seamounts west of Hawaii in early 1874. However, the Gettysburg researchers devoted particular effort to determini -
The Coast and Geodetic Survey
The Coast and Geodetic Survey (as the Coast Survey was renamed in 1878) Steamer Blake, under Commander John Elliott Pillsbury, pioneers deep-ocean anchoring techniques during Gulf Stream studies. The Blake is reported to have anchored in 2,200 fathoms. -
Reginald Fessenden
On April 27, Reginald Fessenden, of Submarine Signal Corporation, sails on the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Miami. He uses a Fessenden Oscillator to reflect a signal off an iceberg and simultaneously reflect an acoustic signal off the sea bottom. This test marks the beginning of the acoustic exploration of the sea. -
Sigsbee Sounding Machine
Commander Charles D. Sigsbee commands the Coast Survey Steamer Blake . Sigsbee modifies the Thomson Sounding Machine and designs an instrument termed the Sigsbee Sounding Machine. This becomes the basic model for wireline sounding in the deep sea for the next 50 years.
