Geological and Physical Oceanography 121

Geological Oceanography  Chemical oceanography, which is the study of the chemical composition
- Studies the structure and morphology of the seafloor and the coast, the and properties of seawater; how to extract certain chemicals from seawater;
origin of seafloor and coastal features, and the marine sediments. and the effects of pollutants.
 Physical oceanography, which is the study of waves, tides, and currents; the
Physical Oceanography ocean atmosphere relationship that influences weather and climate; and the
- Studies waves, tides, and currents. It also explains ocean-atmosphere transmission of light and sound in the oceans.
relationship that influences weather and climate; and the transmission of  Biological oceanography, which is the study of the various oceanic life
light and sound in the oceans. forms and their relationships to one another; adaptations to the marine
environment; and developing sustainable methods of harvesting seafood.
Oceanography
- ocean = the marine environment
- graphy = the name of descriptive science

Oceanography
- the description of marine environment.
- the scientific study of all aspects of the marine environment.
- Also called Marine Sciences and includes the study of the water of the
ocean, the life within it, and the (not so) solid Earth beneath it.

HISTORY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
 1870s – the term oceanography was first coined
 Pre Historic time – people used the ocean as means of transportation and
as a source of food.
 1930s – studied technically the importance of ocean processes
 During World War II – during WWII that the great expansion in
oceanography, which continues today, began.

OCEANOGRAPHY IS TYPICALLY DIVIDED INTO DIFFERENT

NATURE OF SCIENCE INQUIRY
ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE (SUBFIELDS)
- The overall goal of science is to discover underlying patterns in the natural
 Geological oceanography - which is the study of the structure of the sea
floor and how the sea floor has changed through time; the creation of sea
world and then to use this knowledge to make predictions about what
floor features; and the history of sediments deposited on it should or should not be expected to happen given a certain set of
circumstances.
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- Assumptions that all-natural phenomena are controlled by understandable
physical processes and that these same physical processes operating today
have been operating ever since.
HOW UNIQUE ARE THE EATH’S OCEANS?
- No other body in the solar system has confirmed ocean; however recent
satellite missions have revealed
 Jupiter’s moon Europa – has a spidery network of fluid-filled
cracks
 Jupiter’s moon Callisto – may have a liquid ocean beneath its
cold, icy crust.
 Saturn’s tiny moon Enceladus – which displays geysers of water
vapor and ice that have recently been analyzed and remarkably,
contain salt.
 Saturn’s giant moon Titan – with its thick obscuring atmosphere
may possess sea of liquid hydrocarbons.
- Currently, there is much debate in the United States as to which of these
moons is the target to send a follow-up space mission for the detection of
life outside Earth.
- Still, the fact that our planet has so much water, and in the liquid form, is
unique in the solar system.
- Some scientists have estimated that the oceans supply as much as 70% of
the oxygen humans breathe.
- The ocean contain the greatest number of living things on this planet, from
microscopic bacteria and algae to the largest life form alive (the blue
whale)
HOW MANY OCEANS EXIST ON EARTH?
□ The ocean contains 97.2% of all the water on or near Earth’s surface, so
the volume of the ocean is immense.
FOUR PRINCIPAL OCEANS
□ Pacific Ocean – World’s largest and deepest ocean
□ Atlantic Ocean – Second-largest ocean
□ Indian Ocean – Exist mostly in the Southern Hemisphere
□ Arctic Ocean – Smallest and shallowest ocean
□ Southern or Antarctic Ocean – an additional ocean
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 8,850 meters (29,035 feet)

o Mount Everest is full 2,172 meters (7,126 feet) shorter than the Mariana
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SEA AND AN OCEAN? Trench is deep.

□ The term sea and ocean are often used interchangeably

THE SEA IS DEFINED as follow:
 Smaller and shallower than an ocean
 Composed of saltwater
(although some inland seas, such as Caspian Sea in Asia, are
actually large lakes with relatively high salinity)
 Somewhat enclosed by lands
(but some seas, such as Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, are
defined by strong ocean current rather than by land)
 Directly connected to the world ocean.

HOW WAS EARLY EXPLORATION OF THE OCEANS ACHIEVED?

HOW DO THE CONTINENTS COMPARE TO THE OCEAN? - Since early times, humans have developed technology that has allowed
civilizations to travel across large stretches of open ocean. Today, we can
o the average depth of the world’s ocean cross even Pacific Ocean in less than a day by airplane.
 3,729 meters (12, 234 feet) - Even so, much of the deep ocean remains out of reach and unexplored.
o Mariana Trench - The surface of the Moon has been mapped more accurately than the most
 deepest depth in the ocean parts of the sea floor.
 the Challenger Deep region
- Voyaging for science began when the English realized that increasing their
which is near Guam
scientific knowledge of the oceans would help maintain their maritime
 staggering 11,022 meters (36, 161 feet)
superiority.
below sea level
o Average height of the continent
 Captain James Cook (1728 1779)
 840 meters (2,756 feet)
 An English navigator and prolific explorer
o Mount Everest in Himalaya Mountains of Asia
 Undertook three voyages of scientific discovery with the ships
 Highest mountain in the world Endeavour, Resolution, and Adventure between 1768 and 1779.
 The mountain with the greatest height above sea level  He determined the outline of the Pacific Ocean
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 The first person known to cross the Antarctic Circle in his search
for Antarctica.
 Discovery about preventing scurvy
 He made possible the first accurate maps of Earth’s surface, some
of which are still in use today.
OCEANS 101 | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
HOW WERE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE AND OCEANS CREATED?
 Stanley Miller – he showed from his experiment that ultraviolet radiation
from the Sun and hydrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia, and
inorganic molecules from the oceans may have combined to produce
organic molecules such as amino acids.
□ Heterotrophic organisms – cannot make their own food
□ Autotrophs – evolved and had the ability to make their own food through
chemosynthesis.
□ Oxygen – comprises 21% of Earth’s present atmosphere
1. Our bodies need oxygen to burn (oxide) food, releasing to our cells
2. Oxygen in the upper atmosphere in the form of ozone protects the surface
of Earth from most of the Sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation
□ Oceans cover over 70% of the Earth’s surface
□ They not only serve as the planet’s largest habitat but also to help regulate
the global climate
□ It taste salty because sodium and chlorine ions in rainwater runoff, and
minerals from geothermal vents on the sea floor.
□ Climate change is altering the ocean in three major ways
 Warmer Ocean
- the ocean is getting warmer. The greenhouse effect not only
warms the planet but also raises the temperature of the world’s
oceans.
- Over the past century, the ocean’s surface temperature rose at
an average rate at about .13 degrees Fahrenheit per decade.
□ Higher temperature also threaten delicate ocean life like coral reefs and
disrupt the food chain from Krill, to Penguins to Seals.
 Rising Sea Level
- Since 1993, the seas have been rising at rate that’s twice as
fast as the long-term trend.
- Sea levels rise not only because water expands when it heats
up but also due to melting glaciers and ice sheets.
- Rising sea level contribute flood.
 Ocean Acidification
- Sea water absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere which lowers its
pH and results in higher acid content.
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- This reduces the concentration of calcium carbonate which
makes it difficult for species like oysters, clams and corals to
form shells or skeletons.
□ The only way to stop the damage to our ocean is to dramatically reduce
greenhouse gas emissions.
HOW BIG IS THE OCEAN
□ One Ocean – consisting of 5 components basins that we call the Pacific,
the Atlantic, the Indian, the Arctic, and the Southern.
□ One Ocean – defines the very face of the planet Earth
□ The ocean covers roughly 71% of our planet’s surface and 29% land
□ The ocean currently holds over 1.3 billion km3 water
□ The volume of the ocean represents 97% of Earth’s total water content
□ All the ocean contains upward of 99% of the world’s biosphere that is
spaces and places where life exist now
□ The totality of all the living space encompassed by the continents
themselves, all of that represents only 1% of the biosphere and the ocean is
99%.
□ The ocean hold the greatest geological features of our planet.
 The Mid-Ocean ridge
- World’s largest mountain range
- 65, 000 km long
- This underwater range is 10 x 65,000 km longer than the
longest mountain chain found purely on dry land The Andes.
 World’s largest waterfall
- Found in the Denmark Strait
- 116 times more water per second over its edge than the Congo
Rivers Inga Falls – the largest waterfall by volume on land
 Mauna Kea
- Tallest mountain is found in the ocean
- 10,000 meter in height
 The Challenger Deep
- World’s deepest canyon
- 11, 035 meter below the ocean’s surface
- 6 times deeper than the Grand Canyon
□ Human influence is seen in every part of the ocean.
HOW DID EARLY SAILORS NAVIGATE THE OCEANS
 Using the motion of stars
 To know the latitude and longitude
- Compass + know the date + set of prepared navigation table =
latitude
- Longitude = need oddly enough a very accurate clock
ORIGINS OF THE OCEAN | NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
 The ocean has been here for almost 4 billion years
4 and a half billion years ago when our planet was born, it was just a molten
inferno. There is no place for any liquid water at all. Yet, the ingredients needed to
create water were there, locked away deep inside the earth when the planet formed.
As the first volcanoes erupted, one of the gasses that’s bellow down was steamed
and as the planet cooled, it formed clouds. It rained for thousands of years. As the
first rivers formed, they began to fill up the lower-lying areas on our young planet
possibly creating the first oceans. But its reckoned even this relentless downpour
only delivered around half the water that makes up our oceans today, the rest came
from outer space.
This is a comet filmed in 2005. It’s about four miles across and like all comets it’s
made of rock and water in the form of ice. To discover just how much water
comets contain, scientist deliberately crashed a space probe straight into it. After it
played into the surface, more than 250,000 tons of water burst into space.
In Earth’s formative years, it was hit by thousands of comets like this. By the time
the bombardment finished, it’s thought they delivered up to half the water in our
oceans.
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