Today’s Tune in GEO/OC 103

“Ocean Man”from the soundtrack of the Spongebob Squarepants Movie

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Melinda PetersonGeosciences Departmental

Office104 Wilkinson Hall

petersom@geo.oregonstate.edu

737-1238

“The best laid plans of mice and men often

go awry…” Return Qwizdom remotes to Bookstore with your receipt

If your refund is less than $61.41:– Obtain receipt from Bookstore transaction

– Write name and student ID on receipt– Receipt to Dr. Wright after class, during office hours, or under her door

If Bookstore will not take accept your remote contact Dr. Wright

More Reminders Dr. Wright’s office hours are right AFTER class– MW, 1:50-2:50, Wilkinson 114, open, first come, first served

– Additional time for “interviews” after class F, Apr 6 and 13

Dr. Duncan’s office hours are right BEFORE class– MW, 11:00-12:00, COAS Admin Lounge

NO LABS THIS WEEK

“Water World”“Earth is a

unique planet, possibly one of the few in the galaxy that has

water.Nearly 71% of it’s surface is ocean. From

space, Earth is brilliantly

blue, white in places with

clouds and ice, sometimes

swirling with storms.

At it’s surface the ocean is in constant motion with powerful currents that stretch for thousands of miles and

towering waves. Beneath the

ocean’s surface lie hidden

mountain ranges, vast trenches

tens of thousands of feet deep, immense hot springs, and huge volcanoes spewing molten rock in massive eruptions.”

-- T. Garrison

Chapter 1

“Just the Facts…” Over 97% of the water on the Earth is in the ocean.

The average depth of the ocean is about 4000 meters.

The Mariana Trench is 11,022 m deep, the deepest spot on the planet.– 8 tons per sq. in.– Mt. Everest is “only” ~8667 m above sea level

“Just the Facts…” Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii, measures ~10,600 m from the ocean floor, making it the tallest mountain on the planet (surpassing even Mt. Everest).

The ocean contains some 5 trillion tons of salts– If dried and spread evenly, that mass would cover the entire planet to a depth of 45 m.

Why Study the Ocean? Major influence on weather and climate

Source of food, energy, medical drugs

Transportation Military significance Recreational resource Major influence on the health of the planet

Culture and history

Historical Reviewof Oceanography

Roots traced to ocean exploration.

Describing the oceans

Historical Reviewof Oceanography

The 18th century was marked by–Improvements in navigation and mapping

–Accumulation of data for charts

Temperature, currents

In the United States, Benjamin Franklin (1769-1770) published the first chart of the Gulf Stream

Historical Reviewof Oceanography

(Cont.)

In Britain, James Cook (1768-1779)–Constructed charts of coastlines especially for the South Pacific

–Secondary discovery the Hawaiian Islands

Historical Reviewof Oceanography

(Cont.)

Historical Reviewof Oceanography

(Cont.)

In the 19th century curiosity about the oceans increased and voyages for scientific purposes were initiated

Charles Darwin: British naturalist– Voyage of the Beagle (1831-1836), studied geology and biology of the South American coastline

Developed theory of evolution based on natural selection

Published On the Origin of the Species (1859)

$1200!

The Voyage of the HMS Beagle

Charles Darwin

Route of the HMS Beagle

Edward Forbes: British naturalist (1815-1854)– Proposed the hypothesis that no life (azoic) existed in the oceans below 550 m

Historical Reviewof Oceanography

(Cont.)

Matthew Fontaine Maury: U.S. naval officer– Compiled information on winds and currents

– Published The Physical Geography of the Sea (1855)

– “Father of physical oceanography”

Historical Reviewof Oceanography

(Cont.)

C. Wyville Thompson: British explorer– Directed the Challenger Expedition (1872-1876)

First major scientific expedition Globe-encircling voyage Chemical, physical, and biological measurements and collections

Disproved Edward Forbes “azoic theory” by collecting sea life from waters as deep as 9000 m

Historical Reviewof Oceanography

(Cont.)

The Challeng

er Expediti

on

Modern Oceanography Major interdisciplinary expeditions, e.g., the Meteor Expedition: German (1925-1927)

– Bottom topography– Vertical profiles of salinity, temperature, oxygen

Subsequent growth, World War II, urgent need for information on the physical structure of the oceans

What is Oceanography Today?

Geological Oceanography

(Marine Geology)

Study of rocks and sediments & processes responsible for their

formation.

Marine Geophysics

Study of rock structure in the ocean basin, properties of rocks such as magnetism, occurrence of earthquakes.

Dec 26, 20049.0 Eq, Sumatra275,950 killed

Image courtesy of BBC

March 28, 2005 8.7 Eq, Sumatra

290 killed

Image courtesy of USGS

April 2, 2007 8.1 Eq, Solomon Islands

Google Maps

~28 killed

Physical Oceanography

How and why ocean currents flow, air-sea interactions such as the generation of waves by

the wind.

Chemical Oceanography

Composition of sea water and the processes controlling and

altering its composition, including marine pollution.

Biological Oceanography

(Marine Biology)

Organisms that live in the oceans and their relationships

to the environment.

Ocean Engineering

Design and installation

of oceanographic instrumentati

on and vehicles

Today ocean research is Today ocean research is conducted by investigators in conducted by investigators in specialized marine specialized marine institutionsinstitutions, as well as , as well as universities, and state and universities, and state and federal agenciesfederal agencies

The emphasis is on The emphasis is on interdisciplinary, interdisciplinary, processprocess--oriented research and oriented research and international cooperationinternational cooperation

Modern Oceanography (Cont.)

19031903www.sio.ucsd.eduwww.sio.ucsd.edu

19301930www.whoi.eduwww.whoi.edu

19491949www.ldeo.columbia.eduwww.ldeo.columbia.edu

Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionWoods Hole, MA

Scripps Institution of OceanographyUC-San Diego

Current and Future Oceanographic Research

greater focus on internationalinternational efforts and large scale interdisciplinary expeditions– Many scientists– Many ships

“remote sensing” “unmanned” platforms

New Technology for Probing the Sea

TOPEX/Poseidon satellite launched in 1992.

Seasat-A, the first oceanographic satellite, was launched in 1978.

Summary:What is Oceanography?

Broad science focused on the oceans– Geology/geophysics, chemistry, physics, biology, engineering

Highly interdisciplinary Also highly collaborative We are still exploring (!) but …

Feeds also into ocean policy, management, and conservation