ERTH 2403 LECTURE 2 (Origin of the Ocean)

Hydrosphere
1. Volcanic gases emitted by volcanic venting (water vapor, carbon dioxide,
nitrogen, methane, ammonia, Sulphur dioxide)
2. Hot vapor rose (formed clouds in the cool atmosphere)
3. No water could form because Earths surface was still hot
4. After millions of years Earths surface became cooler (water accumulated in
the basins and began to dissolve minerals)
5. Repeated process of evaporation, cooling and rain fall = Ocean formed 4
billion years ago

Bombardment of the young Earth by comets and asteroids

1. Comets and asteroids outer of the solar system may have contributed to the
formation of the Earths surface water
2. Frozen gas and water ice

Atmosphere (Formed about 1.5 million years ago)

1. Photosynthesis
2. Ancestors of todays green plants produced oxygen
3. Oxygen oxidized minerals dissolved in the ocean and sediment
4. Oxygen began to accumulate in the atmosphere Oxygen revolution event

Evidence of Photosynthesis
1. 3.0 billion years ago
a. Preserved photosynthetic blue-green algae
b. Stromatolites: layer of algal mats and sediment forming mound
2. 2.3-2.0 billion years
a. Vast reefs global immense oxygen production

Evidence of Atmospheric Oxygen build-up

>3.0 billion years
o No atmospheric oxygen yet
o Sedimentary rocks exposed to atmosphere
o Minerals (pyrite, uraninite)
2.5-3.0 billion years
o B.I.Fs: Banded Iron formation global sedimentary rocks
o Alternate layers of oxidized iron and Chert (SiO2)
1.8 billion years
o Red beds = highly oxidized sedimentary rocks
Earths first atmosphere was swept away by radiation of the sun (solar winds)
Earths second atmosphere was formed by outgassing (water vapor, carbon
dioxide, nitrogen methane and ammonia)

Biosphere
(Other thoughts on origin of biosphere)
Extraterrestrial: Comets and asteroids
Hydrothermal Vents
 o Deep ocean water
o Non-photosynthetic
o Chemosynthetically base Sulphur-fixing bacteri
3.5 Billion Years
o Earliest identified cell (unicellular prokaryotes
o Warawoonga Australia photosynthetic autotrophs (produced their own
food) and oxygen
2.0 billion years
o Unicellular aerobic eurkaryotes
1.4 billion years
o Sexual reproduction
o Rapid evolution
700 million years
o Multicellular

Magnetic fields
Earth differentiated to:
o Solid Mantle
o Liquid outer core
o Solid inner core
Liquid and solid cores spin at different rates
Generate Earths magnetic field
Protects Earth from radiation and solar winds

Ocean (Beginning of Lecture 2)

The ocean: vast body of saline water occupying depression on the Earths
surface
More than 97% of water on or near Earths surface is found in the ocean
Less than 3% is in land ice, groundwater and all the freshwater lakes and
rivers
Ocean is traditionally divided into artificial compartment called oceans and
seas
Mean ocean crust 6.5 kilometers
Average temperature is 3.9*C
Average elevation of land 840m
Average salinity 34,482 g/kg 3.4%

Are There Other Ocean World?

Titan, Saturns Moon: slushy mix of ice and water

Europa, the largest Jupiters Moon: liquid ocean covered by 8km of ice
Mars had an ocean in the past

Brief history of Oceanography

History of the Ocean: Voyaging for Trade and Exploration
Early peoples travelled the ocean
o For economic reasons; Polynesian, Egyptians, Greeks, Chinese
o Curiosity
o Exploration

Some Evidence
Archeological Evidence
o Paleolithic: barbed spears, harpoons
o Neolithic: Bone fish hooks, nets
o By 5005 BC: Cooper fish hooks
Historical Evidence
o The library of Alexandria
o The Polynesians
The Polynesia (people of central and Eastern Pacific)
Profound knowledge of the sea was required
Polynesian colonized some 10,000 islands
The islands across 26 million square kilometers of open Pacific
ocean
New Guinea and then Philippines were populated by the
Polynesian 6000 years ago
The cradle of Polynesia (Tonga, Samoa, the Marquesas and the
Society Islands) = settled between 1000-900 BC Hawaii was
settled about 460-600
o The Mediterranean (Greeks and Egyptians)
Egyptians
First recorded voyages was around 3200 BC Sbefru
Egypt to Arabian Penninsula around 2750 Hannu
o Ships
o Navigate
o Made Charts
o The Chinese

Polynesian

Why risky voyages into unexplored territory?

Religious warfare strongest reason to Polynesian colonization;
Hope for survival was to reach distant land;
Fine new home and escape volcanic flames

Navigation
Seafaring was a long tradition in the islands
Preparation for such voyages
o Great sailing ships were built
o New navigation techniques were perfected
Depending on the position of the starts to the north
New ways of storing food and water
 Polynesians were skillful navigators
o Change in the rhythmic set of waves against the hull could indicate an
island ahead
o The flight track of birds at dusk could indicated direction of land
o The position of the stars
o The distant clouds over an unseen land cover
o The smell of the water, its temperature salinity, direction of the wind
and marine clustering near the boat

Greeks
500 BC
Extensive exploration
Coastal Mediterranean and Atlantic
Explored the Atlantic ocean around 900-700 BC

Phoenicians
First regular ocean traders with the Cretans
1200-146 BC
Sail to Britain through the strait of Gibraltar
West coast of Africa

Study of the ocean began in Egypt

Applied marine science began in the Library of Alexandria in Egypt in 300 BC
Alexander the Great of Macedonia (Greek)
For 600 years the library was the greatest accumulation of information and
knowledge;
Considered to be the first library in history

Great Scholars (Greek)

Eratosthenes of Cyrene (Greek)
o The second Librarian at Alexandria (235-192 BC)
o Greek astronomer, philosopher, and poet;
o The first to calculate the circumference of the Earth within 8% of the
true value
o Developed grid; Origin of latitude and longitude
o Maps and navigational charts.
Hipparchus
o Librarian (165-127 BC)
o Divided the surface of Earth into 360*
o Invented our present regular grid of longitude and latitude
Claudius Ptolemy 2nd Century AD
o Egyptian-Greek Librarian (90-168)
o Placed east to the right and north to the top
o Division of degrees into minutes and second of arc (still used by
navigators)
o Recalculated circumference to 70% smaller)
o Overestimated size of Asia
 o Confused future navigators.
Hypatia 415 AD
o The first female mathematician, philosopher and scientist
o Last Librarian of Alexandria
o Was murdered
o Library burned
o >700,000 scrolls underground saved and most lost
Vikings
Scandinavian: Adventurers and treasure seekers
Fast, strong, and stable ship enable them to sail faster
The ships Gokstad were the fastest, longest
Danish and Norwegian Vikings swept down the coast of Europe
Swedish Vikings Kiev and Constantinople
Viking in North Africa
Iceland was colonized by about ~840 AD; Greenland 996AD
A voyage from Norway to Greenland: Bjarni Herjulfsson -986 AD was drifted
by winds to the coast of New Land, North America
Leif Ericson purchased Bjarnis boat and returned
By 1000-1020 AD the Norwegian had Colonized Newfoundland (Norwegian
colony in Vineland)

Chinese
Admiral Zheng He 1404-1433
Dark ages in Europe-Chinese navigators became skilled
Admiral commanded greatest fleet
o 317 treasure shups and 27000 men
o 7 mission to explore the world
Explore the Indian Ocean, Indonesia, tip of Africa into the Atlantic
To show the power of the young Ming dynasty and generosity

Some Chinese Contributions

Invented the compass;
Invented central rudder
Watertight compartments
Multi-mast sails

European Voyages of Discovery

Purpose
Alternative to hard and insecure desert routes (Asian and Arabian deserts)
Access to the riches of the Orient was cut off after the Turks took over
Constantinople in 1453 = access to the Orient was needed

Series of Explorers
1. Prince Henry of Portugal: 1451-1470
a. Ocean = great wealth and trade
b. Sagres Centre for Marine Sciences and Navigation
 c. Used compass
d. Trade in west Africa
2. Christopher Columbus 1492
a. Discovered the New World by accident; His intention is to reach the
East
b. Norwegian and Vikings were there 500 years before Columbus
c. Get all the credits because of souvenirs and stories
d. Promised the royal court great wealth
3. Ferdinand Magellan; Voyage (1519-1522)
a. Portuguese navigator in Spain
b. Inspired by the 1507 charts including America
c. Magellans expedition returned to Spain in 1522
d. 18 of the 260 crew survived
e. End of the European Age of Discovery
f. Voyage began 20 September 1519 and ended September 6 1522

European Voyages

1. James Cook: 1768-1779

a. British Royal Navy
b. Plan to assert British presence in pacific
c. Scientific goals
i. Scientific research group formed of members of the Royal
Society to Tahiti
ii. Went south to locate Southern continent
iii. Locate N.W or N.E passage
d. First Voyages
i. HMS Endeavour: 1768-1771
ii. Contribution
1. Found and charted New Zealand and Australias Barrier
Reef
2. Position of Small Islands
3. Notes taken of Natural History
4. Promoted to the rank of Commander
e. Second Voyage
i. HMS Resolution and Adventures: 1772-1775
ii. Contribution
1. Chartered Tonga and Easter Island
2. Discovered New Caledonia (Pacific) and South Georgia
(Atlantic)
3. Promoted to the rank of Captain
f. Third and Last Voyage
i. HMS Resolution and Adventure 1776-1779
ii. To locate N.W (around Canada and Alaska) or N.E (above Siberia)
passages
iii. Contribution
1. Discovered Hawaii and charted west coast of North
America
2. Did not find N.W and N.E passages
3. Was killed in Hawaii on February 14th, 1779
 g. Other Contribution
i. Took samples: marine life, land plants and animals, ocean floor
ii. Accurate notes and journals of all aspect of his voyages
iii. Accurate charts of Pacific ~ used in WWII

Latitude and Longitude

Accurate determination of Longitude = oceanic exploration

How did explorers know their location and how they get back to their
homeland
Earth rotates at 15 degrees per hours
Latitude = angel from fixed stars
Columbus and explorers before him used stars to find latitude
Longitude: Earth rotates 360 degrees every 24 hours
Longitude
Longitude is determined using a clock
Accuracy of the estimated of westward position = accuracy of the clock
Clocks were inaccurate; Pendulum clocks useless in Ship
Longitude problems resolved + invention of clock running at constant rate
under any changes of ship
In 1728, John Harrison: work on a clock: Chronometer which was test in 1736
+ 500 pounds
British Board of Longitude awarded 20,000 pounds for building the most
accurate clock
By 1760: Harrison built 4 version
Trial of #4 began in 1761 HMS Deptford Harrisons son England to Jamaica
error of 5 seconds in longitude of 2.3 km error
In 1769; a second copy was made of #4
Captain James Cook took a copy of Harrison #4 to his voyages 2 and 3
Harrison was not fully awarded government wanted secret no patents
In 1773 was fully awarded by the British Board of Longitude
In 1884, the Greenwich Meridian = longitudinal line at the Greenwich Naval
Observatory = longitude of the world

Scientific and Investigation Exploration

Ben Franklin and Tim Folger

Fastest ship are not always faster
Whalers crossed Atlantic faster via northeast than straight across
Concluded large current Gulf Stream
Published the first chard of current

1839 Lieutenant Charles Wilkes

4 years expedition
Circumnavigated the globe
Charted large land of east Antarctic coast
Observation that Antarctica was a continent
 Prepared 241 maps and charts: 19 vol. Charts Maps, etc.

1842 Matthew Maury: Father of Physical Oceanography

US Naval officer from Virginia
Interested in the exploration of winds and current (commercial and Naval)
In 1847: prepared wind and currents map
First to produced efficient direction for sailing;
In 1849: his direction were used during gold rush in California
In 1855; he published his book Physical Geography of the Seas

Non-American Contribution
1777-1856 Ross- Arctic
1799 Von Humboldt (German Naturalist) S. America Humboldt Current
1795-1876 Ehrenberg small animal skeletons on seafloor
1831-1836 Charles Darwin HMS Beagle
o Atools
o Galapogos finches
o 1842 On Origin of Species

Purely Scientific Ocean Expedition

1872 British Royal Society: The challenger Expedition
o Challenger: 1872-1876
o British Gov. and the Royal Society agreed in exchange of financial gain
o Under Charles W. Thomson (professor at Scotlands university of
Edinburgh) and John Murray (his Canadian student)
o HMS Challenger: 2.306 ton steamship
o 4 years voyage
HMS Mission:
o The longest continuous scientific expedition in history
o Investigate if life below 549 meters was possible
o Deep ocean basin (physical)
o Chemistry of seawater and various depths
o Seafloor properties
o Distribution of organism various depths
Contributions
o 133 bottom samples were collected
o 151 open water trawls and collect 77 samples of seawater for analysis
o 263 water temperature readings
o Biologist discovered 4717 new species
o Samples at depth >8000m were collected
o The Challenger Report was published by Sir John Murray (1880-1895)
(50 volume set) = foundation of Oceanography
20th Century Polar Expedition

Fridtjof Nansen 1861-1930 (Norwegian Oceanographer)

Nansen his ship to be trapped in the Arctic ice
Fram (forward) was designed to move up and out of the frozen ocean
 1. Hypothesis Arctic currents move over North Pole
2. Test: June 24,1893: Fram + 13 men + 5 years provision
3. Plan Freeze Fram at
Result
Froze early, missed North Pole by 500 km exploring 85 degrees 57 feet
Fram drifted with the ice pack 4 years (1893-1896)
The Fram 1650 km drift + prove no Arctic continent existed under the ice;
Aug. 13 1983 Fram thawed off Spitsbergen
Nansens Contribution
No Arctic continents existed beneath the ice
Year-round polar ice
Ice = packed ice, not glacial
Arctic Ocean >3000m deep
Nansen bottle: device designed by Nansen to obtain samples of seawater at
specific depth
Warm layer (1.5*C) between 150-900m = saline Atlantic water under colder
less saline Arctic Water
Plankton bloom
Wind direction relative to ice drift to Ekman spiral
Nobel Prize 1922 humanitarian work in WWI