Learn Oceanography from the Scratch

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Ocean Science for Enthusiasts

Here in this series, we are teaching the basics of oceanography and letting all our readers know about the key concepts of ocean sciences. In the mean time, we are teaching such pro-level things like the Ekman transport, the properties of the ocean waters, ocean basin formation, ocean topography, ocean sediment types , ocean nutrients and the curves of the  gases in the oceans as to how the gases get dissolved down the depth in the oceans. Moreover, we are teaching things like ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation) and IOD (Indian Ocean Dipole) which somehow are ocean atmospheric phenomenon and are key parameters that influence our day to day lives and livelihood of millions of stake holders directly or indirectly depandant upon the ocean resources.

Since, Knowledge of the oceans was confined to the topmost few fathoms of the water and a small amount of the bottom, mainly in shallow areas. When Almost nothing was known about the ocean depths. The British Royal Navy's efforts to chart all of the world's coastlines in the mid-19th century reinforced the vague idea that most of the ocean was very deep, although little more was known. As exploration ignited both popular and scientific interest in the polar regions and Africa, so too did the mysteries of the unexplored oceans.

HMS Challenger undertook the first global marine research expedition in 1872.

The seminal event in the founding of the modern science of oceanography was the 1872–1876 Challenger expedition. As the first true oceanographic cruise, this expedition laid the groundwork for an entire academic and research discipline. In response to a recommendation from the Royal Society, the British Government announced in 1871 an expedition to explore the world's oceans and conduct appropriate scientific investigation. Charles Wyville Thompson and Sir John Murray launched the Challenger expedition. The Challenger, leased from the Royal Navy, was modified for scientific work and equipped with separate laboratories for natural history and chemistry. Under the scientific supervision of Thomson, Challenger travelled nearly 70,000 nautical miles (130,000 km) surveying and exploring. On her journey circumnavigating the globe, 492 deep sea soundings, 133 bottom dredges, 151 open water trawls, and 263 serial water temperature observations were taken.  Around 4,700 new species of marine life were discovered. The result was the Report of the Scientific Results of the Exploring Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger during the years 1873–76. Murray, who supervised the publication, described the report as "the greatest advance in the knowledge of our planet since the celebrated discoveries of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries". He went on to found the academic discipline of oceanography at the University of Edinburgh, which remained the centre for oceanographic research well into the 20th century. Murray was the first to study marine trenches, and in particular the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and map the sedimentary deposits in the oceans. He tried to map out the world's ocean currents based on salinity and temperature observations, and was the first to correctly understand the nature of coral reef development.

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