The Roots of Oceanography (Essay Sample)

Student’s Name Instructor’s Name Course Date Oceanography’s Roots Human beings’ innate desire to understand ocean surfaces and coastal processes like tides and waves promoted the emergence of oceanography as a scientific discipline. Even though oceanography is often perceived as a newly emerging scientific field, its origin extends back several millennia when human beings started venturing oceans using rafts. Oceanography’s roots can thus be traced back to 7250 B.C., a period when the Aegian Island in Melos traded with Greek mainlanders (Mitra 1). However, individuals in this era lacked ship manufacturing and ocean piloting skills, which made voyages unsafe, especially during strong waves. The safety of ocean-related expeditions was heightened in subsequent centuries by Egyptians and Polynesians. The latter substantively refined shipbuilding and ocean piloting concepts between 4000 and 2000 B.C., thereby streamlining sea and ocean exploration processes (Mitra 1). Historically perceived as the first sea-voyagers, Polynesians initially traveled from the Pacific Ocean’s western coastline many millenniums ago to settle in Samoa, Fiji, and New Guinea. Polynesians effectively navigated oceans utilizing their knowledge of astronomy and ocean currents. Such knowledge was vastly used to design oceanographic maps, where shells represented islands' locations with carved wood pieces denoting waves' strengths and direction. The maps would later be inherited and improved by subsequent generations over time, thereby improving oceanographic explorations. At the advent of the 1400s, Europe-based explorers began utilizing the sea to trade and conquer new territories. Portugal's “Henry the Navigator” developed the world’s first premium oceanographic institute for merchants and scholars to improve their knowledge about waves and other oceanic processes (Clarke 112). Such research undertakings brought about the Exploration Age, in which European explorers like James Cook and Ferdinand Magellan launched important oceanic expeditions. Crucial oceanographic tools were invented and refined during this era, including the chronometer, the renowned mariner's compass, and the astrolabe. By allowing ocean explorers to determine the time on a moving ship accurately, the chronometer enabled sailors to understand longitudes- a tremendous advancement in ocean navigation. Therefore, navigating seas and oceans effectively for trading and colonization purposes significantly promoted oceanographic research. Furthermore, oceanographic expeditions financed by the British administration were pivotal in the advancement of this scientific field. Most scholars perceive the Challenger voyage to be the cornerstone of modern oceanography. British and Scottish scientists Charles W. Thompson and John Murray led this expedition from 1873 to 1876 (Mitra 1). The Challenger voyage was the first scientific undertaking executed to collect both qualitative and empirical data on various oceanic elements such as seafloors’ geology, ocean water’s chemistry, ocean temperatures, and oceans’ marine life composition (Zuroski 109). The expedition showcased the presence of the famous Mariana Trench, which has a 26,850ft-deep seafloor (Mitra 1). The exploration also illustrated the ocean basin’s shape, including the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (a sharp distinctive rise in this ocean’s mid-section). The Challenger voyage’s interesting discoveries were essential in encouraging scholars from other regions to develop genuine passions for the scientific exploration of seas and oceans, thereby transforming oceanography from a descriptive to a qu...