The Science of Marine Biology

1. The Science of Marine Biology UNIT 1 Intro video

2. What is Marine Biology • Scientific study of organisms of the seas • Marine bio video

3. What is Oceanography? • Scientific study of the oceans • Covers geology, chemistry, meterology, biology • A biological oceanographer focuses on organisms in the deep while marine biologists tend to study organisms close to shore

4. Why study Marine Biology? • Oceans hold a variety of life- adventurous to study • Provides clues to Earth’s past • Source of human wealth • Food, medicines, raw materials, recreation • Marine life helps to determine the nature of our planet- make oxygen • To solve problems created by marine organisms- barnacles

5. History of Marine Biology • Aristotle considered one of the first marine biologists • He described many forms of marine life • Recognized gills as the breathing organisms of fish • The Greeks used mathematical principles for seafaring and created more accurate maps • Knew Earth was a sphere

6. Latitude/longitude system • Developed by Greeks • Latitude = east-west • Longitude = north-south • In degrees • 1 degree=60 minutes • 1 minute = 60 seconds • Latitude lines never intersect so called parallels- 0*parallel = equator • Longitude lines called meridians- 0* meridian goes through the Royal Naval Observatory in Greenwich, England (the prime meridian)

7. Other cultures such as Egyptians, Pacific Islanders, the Vikings and Arab traders also studied the oceans as well • Early explorer video • Polynesians underwent the earliest known regular long-distance, open-ocean out of sight of land voyages

8. Middle Ages (800 A.D -1400) • A time of “intellectual darkness” • Become an illiterate society • Believed Earth was flat • Only European voyages were Vikings

9. Viking Explorations (790 A.D. – 1100) • Established trade routes with Britain, Ireland, Southern Europe, North Africa, and Central Asia. • Discovered Iceland, Greenland and North America (Newfoundland, Canada) • Contributed to European ship design

10. Chinese Explorations • Invented the magnetic compass (1125) • Traded with Korea, Japan, and Australia • Contributed central rudders and watertight compartments to ship building

11. European Explorations (1400-1700) • Renaissance period- centered in Italy • Ocean expeditions were conduced for economic, political and religious reasons

12. James Cook and the Birth of Marine Science • An English sea captain • One of the first to make scientific observations on his travels and to include a full time naturalist • Beginning in 1768, he explored all of the oceans • Used the chronometer- an instrument that helped to determine his longitude and latitude and make accurate charts

13. First European to see the Antarctic and to land in Hawaii, New Zealand, Tahiti and other Pacific islands. • Killed in 1779 in a fight with native Hawaiians at Kealakekua Bay Hawaii • James Cook video

14. Charles Darwin • English Naturalist on the Beagle -1831 • Described atolls- rings of coral reef • Studied plankton and barnacles

15. United States Exploring Expedition • 1838-1842 • The “Wilkes Expedition” • 2 out of 6 ships returned • Confirmed Antarctica was a continent • Explored 280 islands • Collected 2,000 unknown species • video

16. Matthew Maury- Father of Physical Oceanography • US Naval Officer • 1834-1841 3 world tours • 1842 appointed superintendent of Dept of Charts and Instruments of the Navy department • Began publishing his work • His system for recording oceanic data was adapted worldwide especially his studies of currents and winds

17. The Challenger Expedition- British • First expedition entirely devoted to marine science- 1872 to 1876 • Sailed 80,778 miles • Report took 23 years to complete • Discovered the Mid-Atlantic ridge and the Marianas Trench

18. Took the first soundings deeper than 4000 meters • Discovered marine organisms in the deepest part of the ocean • Sampled and illustrated plankton • Catalogued and identified 715 new genera and 4717 new species • NASA named space shuttle after it • video

19. Oceanography Explosion • Due to Industrial Revolution and the advancement of technology • Rise of steam engines and iron ships • Development of the diesel engine, electric motor and lead-acid battery lead to the development of submarines • Wealthier countries = more research $ therefore applied research increased dramatically as well as pure research • The Cold War and global conflict fueled scientific discovery

20. Important 20th Century Expeditions • German Meteor expedition- 1925 • One of 1st modern oceanographic research cruises • Crossed Atlantic 14 times in two years • Mapped Atlantic seafloor with echo-sounding technology- 1st one of its kind

21. Atlantis expedition- U.S.- 1931 • 1st ship built specifically for ocean studies • Confirmed and mapped the Mid-Atlantic Ridge • Space shuttle named after it

22. New H.M.S. Challenger II- 1951 • 2 year voyage to the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans • Found deepest part of ocean (the Challenger Deep) in the Marianas Trench- 10, 838 meters

23. SUBMERSIBLES AND SELF-CONTAINED DIVING

24. Submersibles • 3 basic types • 1. Bathysphere- developed by William Beebe and Otis Barton in the 1930’s • Steel ball with a window and an umbilical • Only went vertically- attached by a cable to a ship • 1932 Beebe and Barton reached 661 meters

25. The bathysphere (1930)

26. 2. Bathyscaphe • Similar to bathysphere except it was attached to a large float instead of to a cable and ship • Limited horizontal motion because of propellers • Deepest diving submersibles ever made • Trieste traveled to the bottom of the Challenger Deep

28. 3. Deep-Diving submersibles • 2-3 person vessels • Moderate to deep depths • Good horizontal movement • No float tanks • Less fragile • Robotic arms • Alvin most famous-discovered the Titanic-Jason Project- operated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (US Navy)

29. Johnson Sealink Submersible

30. Advantages of submersibles • Great depths • Duration of dives are longer • Disadvantages of submersibles • Very expensive • Need of support vessels and diving teams • Very large, so not able to have access to many places

31. Self-Contained Diving • 1st was hard-hat (helmet) diving- Englishman named Augustus Siebe- 1840 • Good for underwater labor, not good for research because it was heavy and required a support team and vessel

32. Englishman Henry Fleuss introduced the first workable scuba in 1878 • Recirculated pure oxygen which is only usuable to a depth of 10 meters or 33 ft • Frenchman Jacques Cousteau and engineer Emile Gagnan developed the scuba system used today in 1943 • Delivers compressed air and only provides it when the diver inhaled • Easy to use, lightweight, simple, little support needed

33. Advantages of SCUBA • Less expensive • Very simple- don’t need a team • Portable and small • More dexterity • Disadvantages of SCUBA • Usually limited to about 40-50 m (130-165 ft)-compressed air and to about 150 m with synthetic breathing gases • Duration is smaller due to cold, pressure, and fatigue

35. Hardsuits - 1913 • In between a submersible and scuba • More protection from temp. and pressure • More mobile than submersibles • Deeper dives • Expensive • Also need some team support as well

36. ROVs, AUVs, Electronic Navigation, and Satellites

37. ROVs • “Remotely operated vehicle” • Small unmanned submarine with propellers, video camera and an umbilical • Operator at surface • Can have arms, claws and other tools

38. AUVs • “Autonomous Underwater Vehicle” • Untethered robotic device • Self-contained power systems • Controlled by an attached computer • Maneuverable in 3 dimensions

39. Electronic navigation • 1st was LORAN (Long Range Navigation)- 1960s • Developed into Loran-C- based on radio signals from the coast- needed to triangulate to get ships position • Accurate within a few meters • But only worked where Loran transmitters were located • Accuracy depended on distance from transmitter

40. GPS • “Global Positioning System”- 1990s • Developed by U.S. Military • Receives signals from satellites • Accurate within 1-2 meters