Biological oceanography

In 325 BC, Pytheas of Massalia, a Greek geographer, explored much of the coast of England and Norway and developed the means of determining latitude from the declination of the North Star.

This relationship was later developed by English monk Bede in De Temporum Ratione (The Reckoning of Time) around 700 AD.

Some notable events closer to our time, include Prince Henry the Navigator’s ocean exploration in the 1400s.

Captain James Cook’s voyages were responsible for the extensive data collection on geography, geology, biota, currents, tides, and water temperatures of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in the 1760s and 1770s.

Forbes’ theory was finally believed to be incorrect by the masses when submarine cable was lifted from a depth of 1830 m and covered in animals.

They also brought the equipment to collect data about the biological, chemical, and geological properties of the ocean in a systematic way.

[1][4] It is thought that the earliest organisms originated in the ancient oceans, long before any forms of life appeared on land.

The range of diversity of life in the ocean is one of the main motivations behind the continued study of biological oceanography.

Some of the main questions that biological oceanographers seek to answer may include: what sorts of organisms inhabit different sectors and depths of the ocean and why?