Timeline:
– 4500 BC: Cultures in Greece and Rome start sea exploration for food, commerce, and possibly warfare.
– 4000 BC: Egyptians develop sailing vessels in the eastern Mediterranean.
– 4000 BC – 1000 AD: Polynesians colonize South Pacific Islands.
– 1800 BC: Basic depth measuring in Egypt.
– 1500 BC: Middle Eastern exploration of the Indian Ocean.
From Early Exploration to Present:
– 1492-1504: Christopher Columbus reaches America seeking a sea route to the Indies.
– 1498: Vasco da Gama sails around Africa to India.
– 1519-1522: Ferdinand Magellan’s ships circumnavigate the world.
– 1620: Dutch inventor Cornelis Drebbel builds the first submarine.
– 1768-1780: James Cook explores the southern oceans using a marine chronometer.
Human-powered:
– 20th century sees a renaissance in ocean exploration with human-powered expeditions.
– Pioneering becomes the goal of modern ocean explorers.
See also:
– Deep-sea exploration investigates ocean conditions beyond the continental shelf.
– Exploration is the process of investigating unfamiliar things.
– Lists of explorers and maritime explorers.
– Ocean is the saltwater covering most of Earth.
– Oceanography studies physical, chemical, and biological processes in the ocean.
References:
– “The Forgotten Revolution” by Lucio Russo.
– “An Introduction to the World’s Oceans” by Keith A. Sverdrup, Alyn C. Duxbury, and Alison B. Duxbury.
– Guinness World Records.
– Interactive Timeline of significant events in NOAA’s history.
– History of Oceanography by USC Earth Sciences.
External links:
– Ocean Explorer – Public outreach site for explorations sponsored by the Office of Ocean Exploration.
– NOAA Ocean Explorer History.
– NOAA Ocean Explorer Gallery – Collection of images, video, audio, and podcasts.
