Oceanography

Week 1 reading assignment

Reading should be completed prior to the lecture that will address the specified topic(s). Please complete the thought questions for each assignment, to test your comprehension.

--> Caution: late thought question assignments will not be graded

<How to approach the reading assignments>

<Objectives><Reading Assignment> <Links><Thought Questions>

Course Outline Objectives:	<outline> I.A:. History of Oceanography I.B:. Earth formation, Earth Interior (W) I.C:. Earth Interior (F)
Some questions to help you focus your reading:
History of Oceanography	What were the oceanographic interests of historical peoples? Who, and how did the oceans get explored? What were the major questions that early explorers asked about the oceans? Remember: all ocean travel, in the past, was powered by wind, currents and oars.
Origin of the Earth	What is the "Big Bang" theory? How did the earth and its oceans form? Where did the water in the oceans come from? What might the early earth have been like?
Navigation and Maps	How did the early explorers (pre-GPS and even pre-compass) find their way around the oceans?

<Objectives><Reading Assignment> <Links><Thought Questions>

Reading Assignment:

Thurman and Trujillo:

Chapter 1: Historical Perspective

Readings from your lab book:

Lab #1: Getting Acquainted

Browse the optional links below.

<Objectives><Reading Assignment> <Links><Thought Questions>

Reading links (for your optional exploration):
www.divediscover.whoi.edu/	Historical Oceanography: This site is published by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and is easily the best web site out there for oceanographic history. It also provides a great history of ocean mapping, from the ocean sticks of the Polynesians to submarine exploration.
inventors.about.com/	Historical Oceanography: This is a “What You Need to Know About” site featuring oceanographic history. The web site chronicles early exploration attempts by Polynesians and the American influence on oceanography during the Civil War, WWII, and today.
maritime.haifa.ac.il/	Historical Oceanography: This is a web site from Haifa University featuring a time line of important developments in oceanography.
www.sfos.uaf.edu/	Origin of the Earth: This is an excellent site that describes the history of the universe, the origin of Earth, and the origin of the oceans. Courtesy of the University of Alaska.
www.umich.edu/~gs265/	Origin of the Earth: This is a good web site from the University of Michigan describing the origin of the universe using the Big Bang Theory. It addresses questions such as, “What happened after the big bang?” and, “How do we know how old the universe is?”

<Objectives><Reading Assignment> <Links><Thought Questions>

Thought Questions :
Historical Oceanography	Many of the Polynesian islands are hundreds of miles apart. How did the early Polynesians keep track of their location when they were at sea if they couldn't view any land for miles around?
Historical Oceanography	What did John Harrison invent in the early 1700's that would help early sea farers keep track of their location at sea?
Historical Oceanography	From Matthew Maury's standpoint, why was it important to understand how ocean conditions changed over a year?
Historical Oceanography	How did efforts to find submarines lead to one of the modern methods of mapping the ocean floor?
Origin of the Earth	If all of the planets formed from the same interstellar dust, why is Earth the only terrestrial planet with substantial water on its surface?
Origin of the Earth	What observations did Edwin Hubble make that lead to the Big Bang Theory?
Origin of the Earth	Nearly 5 billion years ago, hydrogen and oxygen escaped from Earth's atmosphere and water was absent from the surface. What major change happened on Earth to allow water to form?
Origin of the Earth	Could there have been another source of water besides degassing?
Origin of the Earth	Is the ocean saltier now than it was when it first formed? Is it saltier now than it was a billion years ago? Why?