1. History of Ocean Exploration
A timeline of contributions

2. Something to consider…
Think back to the beginning of humanity. Think of all possible reasons why humans would start exploring the oceans (Think about why we do so today). List all reasons the class comes up with.

3. ~25,000 yrs ago - Polynesians
Polynesians began colonizing Pacific (Samoa, Hawaii…) by knowledge of waves, bird flight, stars, smell of water, temp, salinity, color, and marine life
Photos courtesy of the Polynesian Culture Center

4. ~300 BC - Greeks inverted kettles trapped air to dive for sponges
-these kettles can be thought of as the first submersibles
-submersibles differ from submarines in that they need a vessel to reach their point of study; they typically are not stand-alone vehicles like submarines
Alexander the Great Diving Photo courtesy of NOAA

5. ~300 BC - Aristotle 1st marine biologist “Father of natural history”
He identified a variety of marine species such as crustaceans, echinoderms, mollusks, fish and mammals
Identified differences between oviparous and viviparous
The School of Athens by Raffaello Sanzio 1509, showing Plato (left) and Aristotle (right)

6. 800- 1000 A.D. Viking Exploration
m ships of oak powered by sails and oars
Explored Europe, Asia and North America
Reached North America 500 years before Columbus

7. ~1400-1600 - Renaissance 1492 Columbus “discovers” America
1519 Ferdinand Magellan to sail around world and contributed to charting the oceans
Map courtesy of Encyclopedia Britannica

8. 1690 – Edmond Halley (U.K.)
diving bell takes divers 50 feet underwater
Suggested that the age of the oceans could be determined by the rate at which rivers carry salt to the ocean
Photo courtesy of National Maritime Museum, London

9. Mid-1700’s: Captain James Cook / Benjamin Franklin
Cook: Observations led to the discovery that vitamin C prevents scurvy and mapped islands in the South Pacific.
Franklin: noticed that mail delivery from Europe to the colonies took longer than mail from the colonies to Europe. Learned of a water current that moved up the coast from the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf Stream).

10. 1800 – Robert Fulton (U.S.) Submarine Nautilus tested in France
Photo courtesy of National Maritime Museum, London

11. 1831 – Voyage of the Beagle
Naturalist Charles Darwin sailed around the world on HMS Beagle
Theory of evolution by natural selection
Map courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

12. 1872-1876 – Challenger expedition
1st expedition to collect oceanic species from around the world
Beginning of modern oceanography
Map courtesy of TAMU

13. Challenger contributions
Water samples
Sediment samples
Recorded temperature and pressure at varying depths
Discovered, described and catalogued 4,700 new species of marine organisms
Collected data on tides, currents, and wave action
Director: Sir Charles Thompson “ founder of oceanography”

14. 1930 – Otis Barton (U.S.)
Barton designed the bathysphere, and with naturalist Dr. William Beebe dove 1428 feet near Bermuda
Photo courtesy of Wildlife Conservation Society

15. 1943 – Jacques-Yves Cousteau (France)
Photo courtesy of NOAA
Cousteau improved the aqualung and invented modern scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus)
Marine conservationist

16. 1960 – Jacques Piccard (Switzerland)
Map courtesy of NOAA
Photo courtesy of National Maritime Museum, London
Piccard designed the bathyscaphe Trieste, and with Lt. Don Walsh, reached the deepest point in the ocean, 35,000 feet in the Mariana Trench

17. 1977 – Alvin
Carries scientists to observe deep ocean hydrothermal vents for the first time
Photo courtesy of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute

18. 1979 – Dr. Sylvia Earle (U.S.)
Photo courtesy of Al Giddings Images, Inc
Dr. Earle, in a Jim suit, rides the submersible Star II to the seafloor, 1250 feet deep near Oahu, Hawaii
Photo courtesy of Al Giddings Images, Inc

19. 1984 – DeepRover
This single person submersible was launched, diving 3280 feet
Photo courtesy of Marine Technology Society

20. 1999 – DeepWorker
This single person submersible allows pilots to explore U.S. National Marine Sanctuaries

21. Robert “Bob” Ballard
Most remembered for his discoveries of old ship wrecks of the RMS Titanic, Battleship Bismarck, USS Yorktown and most recently John F. Kennedy’s PT109.
He is a former commander in the US Navy and is currently a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island

22. Today - Marine labs
Many marine labs established in 1800’s and thrive today:
Woods Hole, MA
Scripps (CA)
-Harte Research Institute (TX)
Virginia Institute Marine Science

23. Bob Ballard Under water discovery Video
After watching the video complete a quick write in your composition book or a blank sheet of paper
Answer:
Why do you think we haven’t explored the oceans more in depth?
What is the importance of exploring the oceans?
In what way(s) do you think we’ve made a sufficient progress throughout history of ocean exploration?
Teacher complete this after students have finished the gallery walk