OCEA 2000X Study Guide - Fall 2018, Comprehensive Midterm Notes - Earth, Solar Irradiance, Oceanic Crust
12 Oct 2018
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OCEA 2000X
MIDTERM EXAM
STUDY GUIDE
Fall 2018
Foundations of Ocean Sciences
What is Oceanography:
• In Greek mythology, Oceanus is the Titan son of the Gods Uranus and Gaia
• Oceanus is the God of the backward-flowing river Ocean
• Poseidon is the Olympian god of the seas, responsible for storms and earthquakes
Three Periods of Investigation:
• Ocean Exploration
o The period when people explored the ocean boundaries
• Early Scientific Investigations
o Began when people began to describe the ocean
• Modern Oceanography
o Began in the twentieth century with interdisciplinary oceanic research and use of
complex scientific instruments
The Polynesians:
• The first people to venture out into the open ocean (Pacific)
o Discovered many islands (Easter, Hawaiian)
• Problem of Scale→ How big is the Earth
• Problem of Position→Where am I
Size of the Earth:
• The Greeks figured out the size of the Earth and determined that the Earth was round
• Latitude is Y- axis, Longitude is X - axis
• Latitude was used by Norsemen to North America
Finding Longitude:
• Every hour in the day corresponds to 15 degrees of longitude
• If I know what time noon occurs where I am relative to when it occurs at a reference
longitude, then I simply multiply the hourly time difference by 15 degrees to calculate
my longitude
• The reference location accepted around the world is Greenwich, England
Early Oceanographic Scientists:
• James Cook
o First European to set foot on Australia
• Matthew Fontaine Maury
o Credited as giving rise to modern oceanography (gulfstream)
• The Challenger Expedition was devoted specifically to ocean science (led by the UK)
Current and Future Oceanographic Research Trends:
• More international efforts because of cost and scale of research
• Increased use of computers for modeling complex ocean processes
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
• Greater use of remotely operate vehicles and autonomous underwater vehicles for ocean
exploration
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
In greek mythology, oceanus is the titan son of the gods uranus and gaia: oceanus is the god of the backward-flowing river ocean, poseidon is the olympian god of the seas, responsible for storms and earthquakes. The polynesians: the first people to venture out into the open ocean (pacific, discovered many islands (easter, hawaiian, problem of scale how big is the earth, problem of position where am i. Size of the earth: the greeks figured out the size of the earth and determined that the earth was round, latitude is y- axis, longitude is x - axis, latitude was used by norsemen to north america. Finding longitude: every hour in the day corresponds to 15 degrees of longitude. Early oceanographic scientists: james cook, first european to set foot on australia, matthew fontaine maury, credited as giving rise to modern oceanography (gulfstream, the challenger expedition was devoted specifically to ocean science (led by the uk)
