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Shattering Ocean Depth Conspiacies
The ocean was known to man to be very deep, almost never ending. Up until this year, society assumed no life was present past 549 meters (1,800 feet) in the ocean. However, Charles Wyville Thomson, crushed this theory as he found sea life at 4,389 meters (14,400 feet) below the sea. The crew brought up speciments onto the H.M.S Lightning. (scientific research) -
The First Oceanographic Research Vessel
During the 1800's ships weren't known to travel far distances. However, the U.S. Fish Commission vessel Flsh Hawk in New England built The Albatross. As being the first ship to serve as an oceanographic research vessel, it was restriced to the waters of the Atlantic Shelf from Cape Hatteras to Newfoundland for the first five years. (scientific research) -
Bouncing Signals
An inventor, who mainly surfaced his work with radio and sonar, with the name Reginald Fessenden utilized an oscillator with relations to oceanography. The electric currents created a signal which bounced off an iceberg and the seafloor. This became known as the first acoustic exploration of the seas. (navigation) -
The First Marine Magnetometer
There was many unknown creatures and facts about the ocean, leaving many opportunities to discover something new about the sea. With this in mind, many group invented tools to help unfold these mysteries. Robert Ballard invented the first marine magnetometer. With the help of the U.S. Navy and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Pioneer towed it across the seafloor of the West Coast. They discovered magnetic striping leading to plate tectonics. (scientific reasearch) -
Underwater Lab
Just off the coast of California, the U.S. Navy lowered Sealb II. These were underwatered habitats that tested "the physiological effects of prolonged underwater living on humans". It could hold ten people 200 feet deep for 30 days. (scientific research) -
Discovery of Hydrothermal Vents
Robert Ballard, an American officer, and his team revelaed hydrothermal vents along with an ecosystem that doesn't require the sun to live. "These ecosystems rely on biota absorbing chemical energy from the venting materials in a process called chemosynthesis". (scientific research) -
Mapping Surface of the Sea
NASA, the U.S. space agency, and CNES launched the TOPEX/Poseidon satellite with intentions to map out the surface of the sea. (navigation) -
The Ocean's Biodiversity gets Cataloged
The ocean is known to hold many different animals, corals, and unknown creatures. In order to keep track of what has been discovered so far, the Census of Marine Life catalogs the various marine species collected in an online database. -
Diving Deep
Many dreams consist of diving down deep into the ocean. This dream became a realtiy for National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence James Cameron. He travelled down to the deepest known point in the ocean. (scientific research) -
Mapping the Ocean Floor
There's so many unknown wonders to sealife. In order to help solve some of these problems, an international scientific team set out a plan to have the entire Earth's ocean foor by 2030. They will be "using over a dozen tracking ships outfitted with advanced multibeam bathymetry technology". (navigation, scientific research)
