history of marine science

Question 1

main reason early people travelled

Answer 1

economic reasons
- Benefits of mobility and greater access to food supplies
- Any coastal culture skilled at raft building would have advantage over less-skilled competitors
- hunted edible near-shore resources

Question 2

who was probably the first regular ocean traders

Answer 2

the Phoenicians

Question 3

where was the First evidence of voyaging in records of trade

Answer 3

Mediterranean Sea - Greeks began to explore outside the Mediterranean - they believed only rivers had currents

Question 4

what is marine science

Answer 4

The organized study of the ocean

Question 5

what did marine science begin with and where did it progress

Answer 5

Began with technical studies of voyagers
Progress began at the Library of Alexandria, Egypt

Question 6

when was the size and shape of the Earth known

Answer 6

by ~230BCE, more than 1,700 years before Columbus’ voyages

Question 7

what did Eratosthenes, second librarian at Alexandria find out

Answer 7

heard from travelers returning from Syene that at noon on the longest day of the year, the sun shone directly onto the waters of a deep vertical well

Question 8

what is latitude

Answer 8

lines go across – measure up to down

Question 9

what is 1 degree of latitude

Answer 9

distance = 111km

Question 10

what is longitude

Answer 10

lines go up to down – measure across

Question 11

how does the degree of longitude vary

Answer 11

equator = higher degree of longitude than at the poles

Question 12

How Do Researchers Determine Dates and Locations of Polynesian Migration

Answer 12

Data from DNA
Strains of bacteria
Radiocarbon dating
Language studies
Fossil Remains

Question 13

In addition to the compass what did the Chinese invent

Answer 13

the central rudder, watertight compartments, fresh water distillation for shipboard use, and sophisticated sails on multiple masts

Question 14

what are the key aspects of Viking exploration

Answer 14

• Vikings built fast, strong, and stable ships
• conducted successful raids across Europe
• covered Newfoundland (Vinland) while exploring westward
• Initial attempts to establish peaceful relations with Indigenous peoples failed
• Vinland settlement was abandoned

Question 15

when did The Chinese intentionally abandon oceanic exploration

Answer 15

1433

Question 16

some misconceptions about Columbus

Answer 16

• never even saw North America
• made the smallest estimate of Earth’s size by any navigator in modern history (~half of its true size)
• Mistook the New World for his goal of India/Japan

Question 17

what was the first circumnavigation of the globe

Answer 17

Magellan’s Expedition (1519-1522)
- marked the culmination of the European Age of Discovery
- demonstrated the feasibility of global navigation and set the stage for future explorations

Question 18

what was the beginning of scientific oceanography

Answer 18

HMS Endeavour’s departure (1768) under James Cook

Question 19

what were the key aims of Cooks’ HMS voyages

Answer 19

• assert British presence
• observe the transit of Venus across the sun
• explore unknown southern territories

Question 20

Cooks’ key discoveries on his HMS voyages

Answer 20

• Found New Zealand + mapped the Great Barrier Reef
• 1772: charted Tonga + discovered New Caledonia ,Pacific and South Georgia in the Atlantic
• First to circumnavigate the world at high latitudes
• 1776: Commissioned to find northwest passage around Canada
• Stumbled upon Hawai’i - annoyed the locals and was killed
  **It is likely Cook can be considered a first marine scientist who changed the map of the world more than anyone in history

Question 21

how would cook be able to tell what latitude he is

Answer 21

in northern hemisphere: can measure latitude by measuring the angle between the horizon, your eye, and the north polar star

Question 22

how would cook be able to tell what longitude he is

Answer 22

with a clock
- Determine local noon; observe shortest shadow of vertical pole and set clock
- Travel west; time of noon will be different from that on your clock
- Can use rotation of Earth to calculate westward position

Question 23

what did John Harrison from Yorkshire create

Answer 23

chronometer
- in Columbus’ time – no clocks were practically accurate at sea (pendulums)
- British Government formed ‘The Board of Longitude’ – 20,000GBP prize

Question 24

what was the first genuine only-for-science expedition

Answer 24

British Challenger in 1872

Question 25

what was the first hybrid expedition

Answer 25

U.S. Exploring Expedition in 1838 by Wilkes
- the legacy of the expedition was hindered by his disagreeable behaviour

Question 26

what did Matthew Maury do

Answer 26

• compiled worldwide patterns of winds and ocean currents
• Issued charts free to mariners in exchange for logs of their own new voyages
• Perhaps the first person to undertake the systematic study of the ocean as a full- time occupation

Question 27

what is the longest continuous scientific oceanographic expedition

Answer 27

HMS Challenger

Question 28

who is Nansen

Answer 28

The first professor of oceanography - won Nobel Peace Prize in 1922

Question 29

how do we get a Bottom Profile of the Seafloor

Answer 29

Echo Sounder – beams sound down – waves reflect back

Question 30

what factors can effect echo sounder results

Answer 30

Anything influencing the speed of sound in water
- temperature
- salinity
- elasticity

Question 31

3 modern ways we can collect data about the oceans

Answer 31

• The Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI)
• Remotely Operated Vehicles
• Earth-Observing Satellites – main way we know about the ocean now