Oceanography Timeline

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    The Compass

    The compass was created near the beginning of time but wasn't used for maritime navigation until later on in time
  • The Nautilus

    The Nautilus was invented by the creator of the steamboat, Robert Fulton.
  • Dredging

    Dredging began during the construction of the Suez Canal in France. It ws used to pick up different things from the sea floor
  • Sonar

    Sonar stands for sound navigation and ranging. This helped oceanographers get an idea of what the seafloor was like and showed them different depths at different points
  • First Acoustic Exploration of the Seas

    Reginald Fessenden used an oscillator to bounce a signal simultaneously off an iceberg and the seafloor
  • The Aqua Lung

    Emile Gagnon and Jacques Cousteau modify a breathing regulator to engineer the Aqua Lung, forever changing the course of human interaction with the sea
  • ROV

    ROV or remotely operated underwater vehicle, is crucial to oceanic discovery, giving us the best look at the bottom of the ocean without actually going down there.
  • Deepest Ocean Drive

    The deepest ocean dive took place in 1960, this caused ocean laboratories to evolve drastically
  • The Coastal Zone Color Scanner

    The Coastal Zone Color Scanner launched and showed biological oceanographers the patterns, variability, complexity, and coherence of ocean biology for the first time
  • First Successful Solo Dive to the Marina Trench

    James Cameron, National Geographic Explorer successfully traveled to the deepest known part of the ocean