Ocean Exploration

Ocean Diving Begins

4500 BCE

Several cultures like China and Greece started to dive in the ocean for food and start communicating with other nations. This was very convenient because both place were near water.

Ptolemy's Map

150 BCE

Astronomer and geographer Ptolemy makes a map of the world around him which includes Africa, Europe, and Asia, and the oceans surrounding them. This is one of the earliest maps to include lines of latitude and longitude. This mad was lost but rediscovered in recent times.

Viking Expeditions Begin

900

Ancient Vikings colonize Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland. They are also some of the first people to use the north star to guide them to their destination.

Voyage of Christopher Columbus

1492

Christopher Columbus sets off for his voyage to India and China but mistakenly finds North and South America. He was also the first European to make contact with the Caribbean, Central America, and South America.

First Waterproof Suit

1715

Sir Pierre Rémy de Beauve creates the first water proof suit with metal boots, a water proof jacket and to tubes for inhaling and exhaling air.

Franklin's Sundry Maritime Observations

1785

Benjamin Franklin writes a letter to a fellow scientist in France, this letter was know as the Sundry Maritime Observations. This letter detailed his discoveries in the gulf stream as well as ship design and cause for disaster at sea.

U.S. Coast Survey Established

1807

Thomas Jefferson creates the United States Coast Survey. The organization studies and sends information about tides, currents, sea floor characteristics amongst other maritime subjects.

Deep Sea Life in Abundancehe

1868

Charles Wyville Thomson scans the ocean floor and finds life far deeper than once thought. This information makes Edward Forbes theory that no life is below 300 fathoms false

Titanic Sinks

Apr 15, 1912

The once thought unsinkable ship was sunk on April 15 1912 by an iceberg. 1,500 passengers lost their lives but in result to this leads to an effort to discover objects in the water before moving a vessel.

The Aqua-Lung

1943

Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnan make the first up to date scuba suit. They then created the aqua lung which let you stay underwater for longer than ever before. These inventions changed the world of diving forever

First Multibeam Sounding

1963

This was the first work multibeam sounding system which allowed people to get more detailed and accurate maps of the ocean floor as long as they stayed on a survey line

NOAA Established

1970

The NOAA or National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was created. This agency focuses on the condition oceans and the atmosphere. They warn about dangerous weather and tell about what to expect from the waters on that day to help improve our knowledge about the environment

Titanic Found

Sep 1, 1985

Dr. Robert Ballard finds the legendary titanic that sunk almost 70 years ago. The ship was about 12,000 feet deep and about 375 miles off the coast of Canada, though the ship was found in two sperate parts which means there's no chance of getting the ship back

First Video of Giant Squid

2012

A Japanese expedition crew finds a living giant squid in its natural habitat. This giant squid was rather small, it was only 9 feet in length but giant squids can grow to be 50 feet in length