Abstract:Oceanography is considered a young science with roots going back only to the first half of the nineteenth century. Sometimes as late a year as 1872, when the first scientific cruise of a modern nature...Oceanography is considered a young science with roots going back only to the first half of the nineteenth century. Sometimes as late a year as 1872, when the first scientific cruise of a modern nature, the famous Challenger Expedition, began its work in the oceans, is regarded as the opening year of oceanographic research. However, in this connection it must always be kept in mind that there is an important and interesting field within the boundaries of modern oceanography which has a considerab1y more respectable pedigree. This significant field consists of the studies on sea level and its variations. Research on the tides, especially on their theoretical aspects must, of course, be mentioned first. Nevertheless, there are other phenomena connected with sea-level changes which have been commonly known and studied for centuries. It may suffice to refer to two examples: the disastrous floods described, if not always in a scientific way, by many ancient peoples; and the land uplift characteristic of large areas in the northern hemi-sphere. The latter phenomenon has been known and studied, at least in the Fennoscandian countries, since the beginning of the eighteenth century. It gave, in the middle of the nineteenth century, the first impulse to the erection of sea-level measuring poles and thus laid the first firm foundation for purely scientific studies of sea-level changes, such as they appear in nature. Sea-level research mayat a first cursory glance be considered a rather unitary and well-limited field of scientific studies. The conclusion could easily be drawn that the contemporary tendency for specialization has created within the wide framework of oceanography a scientific branch which may allow the investigator to follow his own independent way. Nothing could be more erroneous than su ch an interpretation. It will be made clear, in the particular chapters of this book, that students of sea level and its variations are forced to consider in their work a considerable number of different elements, factors and phenomena which form a substantial part of many very different sciences. It may be sufficient to mention in this connection a few of these elements and phenomena. Hydrography of oceanography, in the more restricted sense of these terms, contribute such elements as temperature and salinity, and consequently also the density of sea water, currents and long waves; meteorology, atmospheric pressure, different wind effects, evaporation and precipitation; hydrology, water discharged from rivers; geology, land uplift and land subsidence; astronomy, gravitation and tide-generating forces; seismology, tsunami waves; and, finally, glaciology, the eustatic changes.Read More
Publication Year: 1987
Publication Date: 1987-10-01
Language: en
Type: book
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Cited By Count: 445
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