1998 Year of the Ocean The Legendary Ocean — ^The Unexplored Frontier 



The earliest successful explorers of the deep ocean were Sir John Ross and Sir James 

 Clark Ross. In 1817 off Baffin Bay, Canada, Sir John collected samples of bottom dwelling 

 organisms including starfish and worms from a depth of 1.8 km. Sir James conducted soundings 

 with a 7-km line during several voyages to the Antarctic from 1839-1843. Their results spurred 

 scientific interest in deep-sea life. In the mid- 19th century, scientific exploration of deep waters 

 was further encouraged by the Azoic Theory of Edward Forbes, which held that life did not and 

 could not exist below about 300 fathoms (1,800 ft). The desire to test this hypothesis has led to 

 further exploration until, eventually, no depth has been completely unstudied. 



The history of oceanography and deep-sea research has been one of cyclic fluctuations, 

 each cycle involving more sophisticated research as it builds on previous knowledge. These 

 research cycles have always included significant government support, because oceanographic 

 research is very expensive, requires long-term commitments of personnel and assets, and does 

 not necessarily provide information that can be of immediate or specific commercial use. 



Modern Oceanography 



Modern oceanography can be considered to have started with the voyage of HMS 

 Porcupine in 1869. However, it is the voyage of HMS Challenger (1872-1876) that is most 

 famous. In both cases, these expeditions were made possible because of government support for 

 exploration and scientific research. During the 127,500-km voyage, the Challenger scientists 

 plotted the first systematic contour lines of ocean basins, currents, and temperatures. Although 

 they labored under conditions much more primitive than those of modem oceanographers. they 

 obtained some remarkable information, including a depth measurement of over 8,000 meters in 

 the Mariana Trench in the western Pacific Ocean.. This measurement was made using piano wire 

 for a sounding line. The Azoic theory was subsequently rejected; abundant life occurred at most 

 depths. More than 4700 new species were collected with nets and bottom dredges. 



World War II provided another set of strong reasons for developing a better 

 understanding of the seas. While wars fought at sea were not new, what was new was a major 

 thrust by maritime powers to understand the medium they were using as a battleground in order 

 to improve their fighting and defense capabilities. Thus the U.S. Navy, as well as navies of other 

 developed nations, devoted sizable resources to understanding the oceans and to developing 

 capabilities to improve this understanding. Wartime requirements resulted in improved 

 oceanographic instrumentation, surface and bottom charts, long-range weather prediction, 

 submarine detection equipment and an enhanced understanding of underwater sound. 



The past 50 years have seen milestone developments in technologies and capabilities that 

 have greatly contributed to oceanography. Some of these include research submersibles, 

 satellites, sonar technology, surface platforms and, or course, the computer. 



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