-
1000 BCE
1000 BCE : Deep Diving Begins
The Greek poet Homer mentions sponge fishermen who dive as deep as 100 feet (30 meters) by holding on to a heavy rock. To compensate for the increasing pressure on their ears, they pour oil into their ear canals and take a mouthful of oil before diving. Once on the bottom, they spit out the oil, cut as many sponges free from the bottom as their breath will allow, and are pulled back to the surface by a tether. -
1776 : James Cook's Third voyage
Cook's final expedition lasted from 1776 to 1779. The goal of this journey was to find a northwest passage across North America to Asia. He searched the coast of Alaska to no avail. At first Captain Cook and his men got along well with the natives of the Hawaiian Islands. However, things went bad when the natives stole a sailboat. Cook tried to kidnap the chief to hold him as ransom for the boat. In the attempt a fight broke out and he was killed by the natives. -
1825 : First use of Scuba
Englishman William H. James designs a self-contained underwater breathing apparatus, or scuba. In James' design, the diver wears a helmet and carries a supply of compressed air in a cast-iron belt fastened around the waist. This device allows the diver to remain underwater for up to an hour. -
1831 : Charles Darwin's Expedition
Naturalist Charles Darwin departs England aboard the H.M.S. Beagle. The goal of the expedition is to perform a survey of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. Darwin studies the plants and animals at each new stop. He discovers many unique species on the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Peru in South America. These discoveries lead to his groundbreaking theory of evolution. In his book, The Origin of Species, Darwin suggests that the deep ocean may be a sanctuary for living fossils. -
1872 : Challenger Expedition
Intrigued by the earlier work by Charles Darwin aboard the Beagle, the H.M.S. Challenger sails from Portsmouth, England and begins a four-year around the world. During the voyage, scientists test the salinity, temperature and density of the seawater. Information is also collected about ocean currents, sediment, and meteorology. The crew discovers underwater mountain chains and hundreds of species previously unknown. This research forms the basis of modern oceanography. -
1914 : First Acoustic Exploration of the Sea Floor
Canadian inventor Reginald Fessenden uses an oscillator to bounce sound waves between an iceberg and the sea floor. This test marks the beginning of acoustic exploration of the sea. The technology will eventually lead to the development of sonar, allowing submarines to signal each other and allowing ships to detect icebergs. -
1943 : Aqua-Lung
Jacques Cousteau is credited with the aqua-lung design which created the open-circuit scuba technology used today. Cousteau started diving with the self-contained underwater breathing apparatus invented by Prieur. Cousteau was not satisfied with the length of time he could spend underwater with this apparatus so he improved it to extend underwater duration. In 1943 Cousteau tried out the first prototype aqua-lung which finally made extended underwater exploration possible. -
1960 : Jacques Piccard
Jacques Piccard, son of explorer August Piccard, and two other men descend into the ocean to a depth of 35,797 feet, nearly seven miles. They make the trip in the Trieste, a sturdy underwater vehicle known as a bathyscaphe. Trieste was designed by Piccard and built several years earlier. The divers discover fish and other amazing deep-sea life at these tremendous depths. -
1979 : Deepest Dive in Dive Suit
Doctor Sylvia Earle sets a new record for a deep dive in a dive suit. Using a new pressurized metal suit known as a JIM suit, she walks unassisted at a depth of 1,250 feet (381 meters). Dr. Earle explores the depths off the coast of Oahu, Hawaii for two and a half hours with only a communication line connecting her to a submersible, and nothing connecting her to the world above. -
2011 : Mariana Trench Expedition
A more modern exploration of the trench using modern submersibles. Among the new discoveries is a single-celled amoeba that measures an incredible 4 inches in diameter. Scientists also learn that trenches play a larger role in regulating the Earth's chemistry and climate than was previously thought. -
2012 : Portable Underwater Habitat Developed
National Geographic Society/Waitt grantee Michael Lombardi develops a portable underwater habitat that can assist divers with decompression. It provides divers with a comfortable environment to decompress as they return to the surface from deep dives. This new habitat will enable extended dives on deep coral reefs with minimal cost and infrastructure. -
2017 : Broadcasting Live
The Fish Eye Project broadcasted a live SCUBA dive online June 8th. The cutting edge in this field is high-definition, 360-degree cameras propelling footage immediately into virtual reality headsets from hard to reach habitats like the deep-sea. These interactive technologies will hopefully usher in a wave of new ocean explorers and innovators.
