Oceanography

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Oceanography (from Ocean + Greek γράφειν = write), also called oceanology or marine science is the study of the Earth's oceans and seas. Oceanographers study a wide range of topics such as plate tectonics to ocean currents to marine organisms. These diverse topics reflect multiple disciplines that oceanographers blend to help us understand Earth's interdependencies: biology, chemistry, geology, meteorology, and physics.

Contents 1 Branches 2 History 3 Ocean and atmosphere connections 4 Notable oceanographers 5 References 6 See also 6.1 Related disciplines 7 External links 8 Further reading

[edit] Branches

The study of oceanography has five main branches:

• Marine biology or biological oceanography, the study of the plants and animals (biota) of the oceans and their ecological interaction.
• Chemical oceanography, the study of the chemistry of the ocean;
• Marine geology or geological oceanography, the study of the geology of the ocean floor including plate tectonics;
• Meteorologic oceanography, studies interactions between our atmosphere and the ocean's hydrosphere; and
• Physical oceanography, studies the ocean's physical attributes including temperature-salinity structure, waves, tides and currents).

These branches reflect the fact that many oceanographers are first trained in the exact sciences and then focus on applying their interdisciplinary knowledge, skills and abilities to oceanography.^[1]

[edit] History

Early exploration of the oceans was limited to its surfaces and the few creatures that fishermen brought up in nets, but when Bougainville and Cook carried out their explorations in the South Pacific, the seas themselves formed part of the reports.

James Rennell wrote the first scientific textbooks about currents in the Atlantic and Indian oceans during the late 18th and at the beginning of 19th century. Sir James Clark Ross took the first modern sounding in deep sea in 1840, and Charles Darwin published a paper on reefs and the formation of atolls.

The steep slope beyond the continental shelves was not discovered until 1849. Matthew Fontaine Maury's Physical Geography of the Sea, 1855 was the first textbook of oceanography. The first successful laying of Transatlantic telegraph cable in August 1858 confirmed the presence of an underwater "telegraphic plateau" mid-ocean ridge.

After the middle of the 19th century, scientific societies were processing a flood of new terrestrial botanical and zoological information. European natural historians began to sense the lack of more than anecdotal knowledge of the oceans.

Oceanography began as a quantifiable science in 1872, when the Scots Charles Wyville Thompson and John Murray launched the Challenger expedition (1872 – 76). Other European and American nations also sent out scientific expeditions (as did private individuals and institutions).

Oceanographic institutes dedicated to the study of oceanography were founded. In the United States, these included the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University, and the School of Oceanography at University of Washington. In Britain, there is a major research institution: National Oceanography Centre, Southampton. In Australia, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, known as CMAR, is a leading center.

The first international organization of oceanography was created in 1901 as the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.

In 1921 Monaco formed the International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB). Then in 1966, the U.S. Congress created a National Council for Marine Resources and Engineering Development. NOAA was in charge of exploring and studying all aspects of Oceanography. It also enabled the National Science Foundation to award Sea Grant College funding to multi-disciplinary researchers in the field of oceanography.

[edit] Ocean and atmosphere connections

The study of the oceans is intimately linked to understanding global warming and related biosphere concerns.

	Our planet is invested with two great oceans; one visible, the other invisible; one underfoot, the other overhead; one entirely envelopes it, the other covers about two thirds of its surface.
	— Matthew F. Maury (1855) The Physical Geography of the Seas and Its Meteorology

[edit] Notable oceanographers

• Robert Ballard (ONR Science Explorer)
• VADM W. W. Behrens, Jr. (NOAA - Futurist)
• Henry Bryant Bigelow
• RADM Richard E. Byrd
• M. Ilham Artuz HAE
• Jacques Cousteau
• Robert S. Dietz
• V. Walfrid Ekman
• Evan Forde
• Gotthilf Hempel
• RADM Grace Murray Hopper USNR - Futurist
• Charles David Keeling
• Uwe Kils
• Matthew Fontaine Maury (US Naval Observatory)
• CAPT Homer A. McCrerey (FNMOC - Futurist)
• Walter Munk
• Tad Murty
• Stefan Rahmstorf
• Johan Sandström
• Yuly Shokalsky
• RADM Charles Dwight Sigsbee (Hydographer)
• Henry Stommel
• Harald Sverdrup
• Mary Sears
• CAPT Don Walsh (Challenger Deep - Deep sea explorer)
• Warren White
• Osman El-Rayis
• Charles Wilkes (United States Exploring Expedition)

[edit] References

1. ^ Impact from the Deep

• Impact from the Deep; October 2006; Scientific American Magazine; by Peter D. Ward; 8 Page(s)

[edit] See also

• Anoxic event - Anoxic sea water
  • Hypoxia (environmental)
  • The Revenge of Gaia
• Climate change
• Environmental planning
• Fleet Numerical Oceanography Center
• Freak wave
• List of Oceanic basins
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • National Climatic Data Center
    • National Weather Center
  • National Weather Service
• National Ocean Sciences Bowl
• Oceans Act of 2000
• Ocean colonization
• Oceanographic Museum - Monaco
• Sea level
• Sea level rise
• Gallery of maps of the Oceans

[edit] Related disciplines

• Biogeochemistry
• Biogeography
• Hydrography
• Hydrology
• Limnology
• Meteorology

[edit] External links

• NOAA Ocean and Weather Data Navigator - Plot and download ocean data
• Exploring Marine Ecosystems - Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History permanent exhibit
• Freeview Video 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Deep Deep Sea' Oceanography Programme - Vega Science Trust and the BBC/OU
• IFREMER - French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea
• NEMO: Modeling framework for Oceanography
• Oceanographycal and Hidrobiological manuscripts The Turkish Seas
• Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS)
• Government Technology Leadership Awards (GLTA) Program
• National Oceanography Centre, Southampton
• NOAA Scientific Advancement Awards
• NorwayOnline: Stone Age to Steam Age
• Ocean Alliance: Conservation Biology
• Ocean World (Open source textbook)
• Ocean World (Glossary)
• SeaDiscovery - Marine Technology Reporter (technology science and engineering)
• Oceanographers Net, Online portal for the Oceanographic community
• Pew Institute fo Ocean Science - Protecting the world's oceans and the species that inhabit them.
• Scripps Institution of Oceanography
• Herdman, William A. - Founders of Oceanography, and their work - An introduction to the science of the sea
• St. Lawrence Observatory (OSL)
• The Finnish Institute of Marine Research
• The National Office for Integrated and Sustained Ocean Observation
• The National Institute Of Oceanography - India
• The Oceanography Society
• The School of Earth, Ocean and Environmental Sciences, Plymouth
• Timeline of Oceanography
• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)
  • Oceanography Image of the Day
  • Oceanus Magazine, The Magazine that Explores the Oceans in Depth
• WMO: Tropical Meteorology Research Programme
• International Workshop on Monsoons
• GSEAS: Naval Postgraduate School
• VADM David C. Richardson - Champion of anticipatory thinking integration for group decision making systems.
• Oceanography, Alexandria University
• College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences

[edit] Further reading

Steele, J., K. Turekian and S. Thorpe. (2001). Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences. San Diego: Academic Press. (6 vols.) ISBN 0-12-227430-X

General subfields within the earth sciences
Atmospheric sciences | Geodesy | Geology | Geophysics | Glaciology
Hydrology | Oceanography | Soil science

Environmental science
Atmospheric sciences | Ecology | Geosciences | Soil science| Hydrology |
Related fields: Biology | Chemistry | Environmental design | Environmental economics | Environmental ethics | Environmental law | Physics | Sustainability | Waste management
Environmental technology

Physical geography
	Biogeography · Climatology & paleoclimatology · Coastal/Marine studies · Geodesy · Geomorphology · Glaciology · Hydrology & Hydrography · Landscape ecology · Limnology · Oceanography · Palaeogeography · Pedology · Quaternary Studies