depths of 250 m. Illumination is difficult in the ocean environment since even the
2000-watt lights that are installed on deep-sea vehicles are only able to light up a
short distance of 10–12 m when exploring the ocean floor.
Historical Background
Oceanography was born in Europe and gave rise to the great expeditions carried
out by countries such as Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Holland, France and Great
Britain during the 1880s and 1890s. Today, the leadership of modern oceanography still remains with European countries and the USA. In 1964, Georg Wüst
published a paper on the major expeditions carried out between 1873 and 1960.
After World War II, the USA attracted many young and brilliant oceanographers.
This was mainly the result of the United States’ technological development. In fact,
the earliest precision echo sounders, marine magnetometers for measuring the
Earth’s magnetic field, and the air-gun development for conducting seismological
exploration were first developed in the USA. The capability of deep sea drilling
started in 1965 with the JOIDES (Joint Oceanographic Deep Sea Drilling) program.
Also, the most sophisticated navigation and bathymetric recording system (SEABEAM) was conceived in the USA. Most of these tools were developed for military
purposes and were then integrated into basic scientific programs. Thus, oceanic
research was motivated by curiosity but also by our desire to acquire basic knowledge of the deep-sea environment in order to maintain ‘‘supremacy of the seas’’.
The earliest organized worldwide oceanographic expedition started in 1872 on
board the British sailing ship HMS Glomar Challenger, and was called the Murray
expedition. This expedition spent 713 days at sea between 1872 and 1876. The
first manganese nodules were discovered during this expedition. It was also during
this expedition that several islands such as the St Paul’s Rocks in the equatorial
Atlantic, St. Paul and Amsterdam islands in the Indian ocean and Easter island in
the south Pacific were visited and studied. At that time, the scientific team and
sailors had to bring their vessel to a full stop in order to measure the ocean depths
using ropes hanging overboard. A total of 372 measurements were taken over
3 years time. They also discovered that a submerged mountain range might exist in
the Mid Atlantic Ocean. Now, 140 years later, measuring methods have become
more sophisticated so a sea floor surface of about 70,000 km
2 can be mapped in
less than 10 days (see Chap. 3).
Ocean Explorers and Pioneers in Oceanography
What is it that makes human beings want to challenge the unknown? Maybe this is
due to their curiosity and their desire to explore new frontiers or perhaps it’s just a
hope for adventure or a drive to surpass themselves. Whatever the reason, modern
2
1 An Overview of Oceanographic Exploration
2000-watt lights that are installed on deep-sea vehicles are only able to light up a
short distance of 10–12 m when exploring the ocean floor.
Historical Background
Oceanography was born in Europe and gave rise to the great expeditions carried
out by countries such as Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Holland, France and Great
Britain during the 1880s and 1890s. Today, the leadership of modern oceanography still remains with European countries and the USA. In 1964, Georg Wüst
published a paper on the major expeditions carried out between 1873 and 1960.
After World War II, the USA attracted many young and brilliant oceanographers.
This was mainly the result of the United States’ technological development. In fact,
the earliest precision echo sounders, marine magnetometers for measuring the
Earth’s magnetic field, and the air-gun development for conducting seismological
exploration were first developed in the USA. The capability of deep sea drilling
started in 1965 with the JOIDES (Joint Oceanographic Deep Sea Drilling) program.
Also, the most sophisticated navigation and bathymetric recording system (SEABEAM) was conceived in the USA. Most of these tools were developed for military
purposes and were then integrated into basic scientific programs. Thus, oceanic
research was motivated by curiosity but also by our desire to acquire basic knowledge of the deep-sea environment in order to maintain ‘‘supremacy of the seas’’.
The earliest organized worldwide oceanographic expedition started in 1872 on
board the British sailing ship HMS Glomar Challenger, and was called the Murray
expedition. This expedition spent 713 days at sea between 1872 and 1876. The
first manganese nodules were discovered during this expedition. It was also during
this expedition that several islands such as the St Paul’s Rocks in the equatorial
Atlantic, St. Paul and Amsterdam islands in the Indian ocean and Easter island in
the south Pacific were visited and studied. At that time, the scientific team and
sailors had to bring their vessel to a full stop in order to measure the ocean depths
using ropes hanging overboard. A total of 372 measurements were taken over
3 years time. They also discovered that a submerged mountain range might exist in
the Mid Atlantic Ocean. Now, 140 years later, measuring methods have become
more sophisticated so a sea floor surface of about 70,000 km
2 can be mapped in
less than 10 days (see Chap. 3).
Ocean Explorers and Pioneers in Oceanography
What is it that makes human beings want to challenge the unknown? Maybe this is
due to their curiosity and their desire to explore new frontiers or perhaps it’s just a
hope for adventure or a drive to surpass themselves. Whatever the reason, modern
2
1 An Overview of Oceanographic Exploration