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Timeline - Oceanography
All subjects timeline
Science Engineering and Technology timeline
This thematic timeline contains 51 entries
-220000000
If a single landmass (Pangaea) existed, it is suggested that it started to break apart at this time and form the separate continents
More about: Pangaea
If a single landmass (Pangaea) existed, it is suggested that it started to break apart at this time and form the separate continents
More about: Pangaea
-23000
Puget Sound, Washington, formed by glaciers
Puget Sound, Washington, formed by glaciers
-16000
Near the peak of the Ice Age, the sea-level is about 400 feet (120 m) lower than it is now, with almost 32% of land covered in ice
Near the peak of the Ice Age, the sea-level is about 400 feet (120 m) lower than it is now, with almost 32% of land covered in ice
-13000
Formation of the Great Lakes
Formation of the Great Lakes
-6200
Global cooling event, possibly caused by collapse of two giant glacial lakes in Hudson Bay area of Canada
Global cooling event, possibly caused by collapse of two giant glacial lakes in Hudson Bay area of Canada
-6000
Great Britain becomes an island as rising sea levels cut off mainland Europe
Great Britain becomes an island as rising sea levels cut off mainland Europe
-5600
Black Sea basin filled with water from the Mediterranean; some researchers describe this as fulfilling the Biblical Flood scenario
Black Sea basin filled with water from the Mediterranean; some researchers describe this as fulfilling the Biblical Flood scenario
500
Inuit peoples of North America start to hunt whales and seals
Inuit peoples of North America start to hunt whales and seals
1418
Prince Henry the Navigator establishes his school of navigation
Prince Henry the Navigator establishes his school of navigation
1497
Vasco da Gama completes the first sea voyage from Europe to India and back, rounding the Cape of Good Hope
Vasco da Gama completes the first sea voyage from Europe to India and back, rounding the Cape of Good Hope
1525
Spanish mapmaker Diego Ribeiro makes the first scientific charts of the Pacific
Spanish mapmaker Diego Ribeiro makes the first scientific charts of the Pacific
1588
Major storm sinks Spanish Armada, killing an estimated 20,000 sailors
Major storm sinks Spanish Armada, killing an estimated 20,000 sailors
1596
Abraham Orteliu, a cartographer, was the first to suggest the possibility of continental drift
More about: continental drift
Abraham Orteliu, a cartographer, was the first to suggest the possibility of continental drift
More about: continental drift
1624
Galileo Galilei puts forward a theory of tides
Galileo Galilei puts forward a theory of tides
1683
Newton uses the theory of gravitation to explain tides
Newton uses the theory of gravitation to explain tides
1801
First hydrographic survey of Australian coastline carried out by Baudin
First hydrographic survey of Australian coastline carried out by Baudin
1840
Louis Agassiz's Etudes sur les glaciers describes the movements and deposits of glaciers
Louis Agassiz's Etudes sur les glaciers describes the movements and deposits of glaciers
1842
Charles Darwin's The structure and distribution of coral reefs ... classifies coral reefs into three types and presents Darwin's theory of the formation of atolls by subsidence of islands
Charles Darwin's The structure and distribution of coral reefs ... classifies coral reefs into three types and presents Darwin's theory of the formation of atolls by subsidence of islands
1849
Discovery of the continental slope and the continental shelf break
More about: continental shelf
Discovery of the continental slope and the continental shelf break
More about: continental shelf
1850
Matthew Fontaine Maury prepares a chart of the Atlantic Ocean and notes that it is shallower at the centre than it is nearer the edges, the first indication of the mid-Atlantic Ridge
Matthew Fontaine Maury prepares a chart of the Atlantic Ocean and notes that it is shallower at the centre than it is nearer the edges, the first indication of the mid-Atlantic Ridge
1857
James Alden discovered the first known sea-floor canyon (Monterey Canyon)
James Alden discovered the first known sea-floor canyon (Monterey Canyon)
1872
Naturalist Louis Agassiz collected over 30,000 sea life specimens
Naturalist Louis Agassiz collected over 30,000 sea life specimens
1878
First modern bathymetric map completed after studies in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean
First modern bathymetric map completed after studies in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean
1882
First purpose-built oceanographic ship, the Albatross, built by Americans
First purpose-built oceanographic ship, the Albatross, built by Americans
1914
First acoustic measurements of sea depth taken
First acoustic measurements of sea depth taken
1925
The German Meteor expedition used sonar to survey the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
The German Meteor expedition used sonar to survey the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
1951
Discovery of the Challenger Deep, the deepest point on Earth, located in the Marianas Trench
Discovery of the Challenger Deep, the deepest point on Earth, located in the Marianas Trench
1953
Maurice Ewing and Bruce Heezen discover the Great Global Rift running along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Maurice Ewing and Bruce Heezen discover the Great Global Rift running along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
1954
Mountain range under the frozen Arctic Ocean discovered by Russian Arctic Institute
More about: Arctic Ocean
Mountain range under the frozen Arctic Ocean discovered by Russian Arctic Institute
More about: Arctic Ocean
1954
First untethered deep sea dive to 13,000 feet off the coast of Dakar by Georges Houot and Pierre Willm aboard French ship F.N.R.S. 3
First untethered deep sea dive to 13,000 feet off the coast of Dakar by Georges Houot and Pierre Willm aboard French ship F.N.R.S. 3
1960
Harry Hammond Hess develops the theory of seafloor spreading
Harry Hammond Hess develops the theory of seafloor spreading
1965
J Tuzo Wilson shows that faults perpendicular to the mid-ocean rifts develop as the sea floor spreads
More about: transform faults
J Tuzo Wilson shows that faults perpendicular to the mid-ocean rifts develop as the sea floor spreads
More about: transform faults
1968
Ocean Drilling Project (ODP, formerly Deep-Sea Drilling Project) begins
Ocean Drilling Project (ODP, formerly Deep-Sea Drilling Project) begins
1977
John B Corliss and Robert Ballard, aboard the submersible Alvin, discover deep-sea vents near the Galapagos Islands; the hot springs are surrounded by a community of sulphur-eating bacteria, giant clams and tube worms
John B Corliss and Robert Ballard, aboard the submersible Alvin, discover deep-sea vents near the Galapagos Islands; the hot springs are surrounded by a community of sulphur-eating bacteria, giant clams and tube worms
1977
Hydrothermal vents found in Pacific Ocean, enabling ecosystems to develop without energy from the Sun
Hydrothermal vents found in Pacific Ocean, enabling ecosystems to develop without energy from the Sun
1979
Discovery of giant sea worms three metres long in hydrothermal vents at a depth of 2,450 metres below the Galapagos Islands
Discovery of giant sea worms three metres long in hydrothermal vents at a depth of 2,450 metres below the Galapagos Islands
1982
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea established to provide rules on marine pollution and environmental standards
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea established to provide rules on marine pollution and environmental standards
1982
Pacific equatorial oceanographic buoy array installed, allowing prediction of El Nino atmospheric/oceanic events
Pacific equatorial oceanographic buoy array installed, allowing prediction of El Nino atmospheric/oceanic events
1990
Start of World Ocean Circulation Experiment
Start of World Ocean Circulation Experiment
1995
Accurate seafloor mapping undertaken using declassified Geosat satellite altimetry data
Accurate seafloor mapping undertaken using declassified Geosat satellite altimetry data
2003
Research suggests that the supply of large fish in the seas has dimished by 90% since 1950
Research suggests that the supply of large fish in the seas has dimished by 90% since 1950
