Oceanogrpahy Timeline

  • U.S. Coast Survey:

    President Thomas Jefferson signs a bill authorizing the United States Coast Survey.(Scientific Research)
  • Undersea Canyons:

    James Alden discovers the first known submarine valley, California's Monterey Canyon.(Navigation)
  • Early Marine Survey of the Americas:

    Naturalist Louis Agassiz steams from the U.S. East Coast to its West Coast around South America, collecting some 30,000 marine specimens.(Scientific Research)
  • First Acoustic Exploration of the Seas:

    Reginald Fessenden uses an oscillator to bounce a signal simultaneously off an iceberg and the seafloor, the first acoustic exploration of the seas.(Navigation)
  • Studying the Mid-Atlantic Ridge:

    The German Meteor expedition surveys the South Atlantic with echo sounders, proving the continuity of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.(Scientific Research)
  • The Creation of the Aqua-Lung:

    Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnan modify a demand breathing regulator to engineer the Aqua-Lung, forever changing the course of human interaction with the sea.(Medicial Field)
  • Development of the Deep Tow System:

    The Scripps Institution of Oceanography begins development of the Deep Tow System, the forerunner of all remotely operated unmanned oceanographic systems.(Recreation)
  • An Underwater Lab:

    Sealab II, an underwater habitat, is lowered off the coast of California.(Scientific Research)
  • The Discovery of the Sunken Titanic:

    A research team led by Robert Ballard discovers the Titanic more than 3,810 meters (12,500 feet) down, the most famous shipwreck in modern history.(Scientific Research)
  • Creating Seafloor Maps:

    Declassification of GEOSAT radar altimetry data from a U.S. Navy Earth observation satellite leads to the worldwide mapping of the seafloor.(Navigation)