Ocean exploration

  • 4500 BCE

    Ocean Diving begins

    Ocean Diving begins
    coastal countries such as Greece and China start diving into the ocean to gather food and maybe even for warfare.
  • 1000 BCE

    Deeper dives begin.

    they would hold onto rocks to carry them deep enough to cut off sponges. To help with the pressure the divers would pour oil into their ears and in their mouth and then spit it out when they reached the bottom. Once they were done with their tasks the divers would be pulled up by a tether.
  • 1492

    Voyage of Christopher Columbus.

    Voyage of Christopher Columbus.
    When Christopher Columbus sets out on a voyage to find a passage way to China and India across the Atlantic he instead discovers North and South America.
  • The First Submarine.

    Dutch physician Cornelis Drebbel builds the worlds first submarine which was made of wood reinforced with iron. The submarine would be able to fit 12 oarsmen. The submarine was able to dive around 12 to 15 feet.
  • The First use of Scuba.

    The First use of Scuba.
    William H. James designed a self contained underwater breathing apparatus or scuba equipment. In James design the diver wears a helmet and carries a supply of compressed air in a cast iron belt. This allows the diver to stay underwater for up to an hour.
  • Voyage of the H.M.S. Challenger

    The H.M.S. Challenger sails from Portsmouth, England and begins a four year voyage around the world. During this voyage scientists test the seawater and collect information about the sea currents. They also discover hundreds of new species witch is consolidated into a fifty volume report which is the basis of modern oceanography.
  • The Aqua Lung

    Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnan develop the first modern scuba system. This groundbreaking invention allows divers to stay underwater for longer and more effectively explore the ocean.
  • The Deepest Dive.

    The Deepest Dive.
    Jacques Piccard and two other men descend into the ocean to a depth of 35,797 feet nearly seven miles. They make the trip in a bathyscaphe that was designed by Piccard and build several years earlier. The divers discovered fish and other amazing deep sea life on the dive.
  • The Deepest Dive in a Dive Suit.

    Doctor Sylvia Earle sets a record for a deep dive in a dive suit. using a new pressurized metal suit known as Jim suit. she walked unassisted at a depth of 1,250 feet.
  • The First Video of a Giant Squid.

    The First Video of a Giant Squid.
    A Japanese expedition and film crew captures a video of a live giant squid in its natural habitat. The squid captured on video was only 9 feet in length witch is relatively small considering that giant squid can grow to over 60 feet.