﻿OCEANOGRAPHY 
  

  

  By 
  Henry 
  C. 
  Stetson 
  

   Museum 
  of 
  Comparative 
  Zoology, 
  Harvard 
  University 
  

  

  INTRODUCTION 
  

  

  Oceanography 
  is 
  a 
  young 
  science 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  modern 
  meaning 
  of 
  the 
  

   term 
  includes 
  not 
  only 
  the 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  physics 
  and 
  chemistry 
  of 
  the 
  

   sea 
  water 
  itself 
  but 
  the 
  animals 
  and 
  plants 
  that 
  live 
  in 
  it, 
  the 
  sediments 
  

   that 
  have 
  settled 
  out 
  of 
  it, 
  together 
  with 
  conditions 
  governing 
  their 
  

   transportation 
  and 
  deposition, 
  and 
  the 
  topography 
  and 
  geologic 
  struc- 
  

   tures 
  of 
  the 
  various 
  basins 
  that 
  contain 
  it. 
  Inclusiveness, 
  however, 
  is 
  

   not 
  solely 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  youth, 
  for 
  by 
  its 
  very 
  nature 
  the 
  different 
  

   branches 
  will 
  always 
  be 
  closely 
  interwoven. 
  For 
  instance, 
  the 
  problems 
  

   of 
  the 
  chemist 
  also 
  concern 
  the 
  biologist 
  studying 
  the 
  ecology 
  of 
  ani- 
  

   mals 
  in 
  the 
  sea, 
  and 
  they 
  will 
  also 
  be 
  of 
  importance 
  to 
  the 
  geologist 
  if 
  

   an 
  adequate 
  attack 
  is 
  ever 
  to 
  be 
  started 
  on 
  the 
  di 
  agenesis 
  of 
  sediments. 
  

   The 
  forces 
  governing 
  the 
  different 
  types 
  of 
  currents 
  are 
  of 
  interest 
  to 
  

   physicist 
  and 
  geologist 
  alike, 
  and 
  it 
  has 
  recently 
  been 
  demonstrated 
  

   that 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  principles 
  of 
  oceanic 
  circulation 
  are 
  equally 
  applicable 
  

   to 
  the 
  atmosphere. 
  

  

  The 
  different 
  divisions 
  are 
  further 
  tied 
  together 
  by 
  the 
  purely 
  prac- 
  

   tical 
  necessities 
  which 
  the 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  ocean 
  imposes. 
  A 
  seagoing 
  

   vessel 
  is 
  expensive 
  to 
  acquire 
  and 
  to 
  mantain, 
  and 
  in 
  addition 
  there 
  is 
  

   the 
  cost 
  of 
  the 
  special 
  equipment 
  which 
  a 
  research 
  ship 
  must 
  have. 
  An 
  

   investigator 
  whose 
  field 
  work 
  is 
  carried 
  out 
  by 
  such 
  costly 
  and 
  time- 
  

   consuming 
  methods 
  has 
  little 
  choice 
  but 
  to 
  work 
  in 
  conjunction 
  with 
  

   others 
  whose 
  data 
  likewise 
  must 
  be 
  gathered 
  by 
  the 
  same 
  means. 
  

  

  Surveying, 
  sounding, 
  and 
  charting 
  have 
  always 
  played 
  a 
  part 
  in 
  

   oceanographic 
  expeditions, 
  but, 
  until 
  recently, 
  geological 
  work 
  has 
  

   been 
  secondary. 
  Small 
  bottom 
  samples 
  were 
  taken 
  in 
  the 
  course 
  of 
  

   routine 
  sounding, 
  and 
  a 
  generalized 
  knowledge 
  of 
  the 
  areal 
  distribu- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  oceanic 
  sediments 
  was 
  early 
  acquired, 
  but 
  here 
  the 
  matter 
  

   rested. 
  However, 
  before 
  tracing 
  the 
  growth 
  and 
  development 
  of 
  the 
  

   geological 
  branches 
  of 
  this 
  science, 
  it 
  is 
  necessary 
  to 
  review 
  the 
  begin- 
  

   nings 
  of 
  the 
  subject 
  as 
  a 
  whole. 
  

  

  1 
  Reprinted 
  by 
  permission 
  from 
  Fiftieth 
  Anniversary 
  Volume, 
  Geological 
  Society 
  of 
  

   America, 
  June 
  1941. 
  

  

  219 
  

  

  