oceanography

—oceanographer, n. —oceanographic /oh'sheuh neuh graf"ik/, oceanographical, adj. —oceanographically, adv.

/oh'sheuh nog"reuh fee, oh'shee euh-/, n.

the branch of physical geography dealing with the ocean.

[1855-60; OCEAN + -O- + -GRAPHY]

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Scientific discipline concerned with all aspects of the world's oceans and seas, including their physical and chemical properties, origin and geology, and life forms.

Research entails sampling seawater and marine life, remote sensing of oceanic processes with aircraft and satellites, and exploration of the seafloor. Oceanography aids in predicting weather and climate, in exploitation of the Earth's resources, and in understanding the effects of pollutants. See also marine geology.

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▪ science

      scientific discipline concerned with all aspects of the world's oceans and seas, including their physical and chemical properties, their origin and geologic framework, and the life forms that inhabit the marine environment.

      A brief treatment of oceanography follows. For full treatment, see hydrologic sciences: Study of the oceans and seas (hydrologic sciences).

      Traditionally, oceanography has been divided into four separate but related branches: physical oceanography, chemical oceanography, marine geology, and marine ecology. Physical oceanography deals with the properties of seawater (temperature, density, pressure, and so on), its movement (waves, currents, and tides), and the interactions between the ocean waters and the atmosphere. Chemical oceanography has to do with the composition of seawater and the biogeochemical cycles that affect it. Marine geology focuses on the structure, features, and evolution of the ocean basins. Marine ecology, also called biological oceanography, involves the study of the plants and animals of the sea, including life cycles and food production.

      Oceanography is the sum of these several branches. Oceanographic research entails the sampling of seawater and marine life for close study, the remote sensing of oceanic processes with aircraft and Earth-orbiting satellites, and the exploration of the seafloor by means of deep-sea drilling and seismic profiling of the terrestrial crust below the ocean bottom. Greater knowledge of the world's oceans enables scientists to more accurately predict, for example, long-term weather and climatic changes and also leads to more efficient exploitation of the Earth's resources. Oceanography also is vital to understanding the effect of pollutants on ocean waters and to the preservation of the quality of the oceans' waters in the face of increasing human demands made on them.

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