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 INVESTIGATING
OCEANOGRAPHY
Second Edition

INVESTIGATING
OCEANOGRAPHY

Keith A. Sverdrup
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee

Raphael M. Kudela
University of California, Santa Cruz
INVESTIGATING OCEANOGRAPHY, SECOND EDITION

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Sverdrup, Keith A.
Investigating oceanography / Keith A. Sverdrup, University of Wisconsin – 2nd edition
Milwaukee, Raphael M. Kudela, University of California, Santa Cruz.
   pages cm
   ISBN 978–0–07–802293–7 (alk. paper)
1. Oceanography. I. Kudela, Raphael. II. Title.
GC11.2.S94 2017
551.46—dc23
2015027229

The Internet addresses listed in the text were accurate at the time of publication. The inclusion of a website does not indicate
an endorsement by the authors or McGraw-Hill Education, and McGraw-Hill Education does not guarantee the accuracy of the
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mheducation.com/highered
 Dedicated to
Barbara Sverdrup Stone and
Stephanie Fouse
and
Robert, Eleanor, and Sarah Kudela
 About the Authors

Keith A. Sverdrup is a Professor of Geophysics at the University

of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), where he has taught oceanography for
over thirty years and conducts research in tectonics and seismology. He is
a recipient of UWM’s Undergraduate Teaching Award and is a Fellow of the
Geological Society of America.
Keith received his BS in Geophysics from the University of Minnesota
and his PhD in Earth Science, with a dissertation on seismotectonics in the
Pacific Ocean basin from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the
University of California-San Diego. Keith has participated in a number of
oceanographic research cruises throughout the Pacific Ocean including the far Western Pacific, from
Guam to the Philippines and Taiwan; the South Central Pacific in regions of French Polynesia including
the Society Islands, the Line Islands and the Marquesas; and in the Eastern Pacific off the coast of Mexico.
Keith has been active in oceanography education throughout his career, serving on committees of
the American Geophysical Union (AGU), the American Institute of Physics (AIP), and the Geological
Society of America (GSA). He was a member of AGU’s Education and Human Resources Committee
for twelve years (chairing it for four years), and also chaired AGU’s Excellence in Geophysical Edu-
cation Award Committee, the Editorial Advisory Committee for the journal Earth in Space, and the
Sullivan Award Committee for excellence in science journalism. Keith served as a member of AIP’s
Physics Education Committee for six years.
Keith has worked as the Geosciences Program Officer for the Division of Undergraduate Educa-
tion at the National Science Foundation from 2005–2007 and from 2014–present.

Dr. Raphael M. Kudela is Ida Benson Lynn Chair of Ocean

Health and a Professor of Ocean Sciences at the University of California,
Santa Cruz (UCSC), where he teaches and conducts research on biological
oceanography. He received his BS in Biology with a Marine Science em-
phasis at Drake University and his PhD in Biology from the University of
Southern California.
Raphael is a phytoplankton ecologist who wishes to understand the
fundamental question: What controls phytoplankton growth and distribu-
tion in the ocean? His research projects span the range from land-sea inter-
actions and water quality to mesoscale iron fertilization experiments conducted
in the equatorial Pacific and Southern Ocean. Raphael is the Director of the Center for Remote Sens-
ing at UCSC, Chair of the international Global Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms
(GEOHAB) program, co-Chair of the U.S. National Harmful Algal Bloom Committee, and serves on
the National Science Foundation Ocean Observing Steering Committee and the Scientific Committee
for Oceanographic Aircraft Research. He is a member of the American Geophysical Union, American
Society for Limnology and Oceanography, The Oceanography Society, and the International Society
for the Study of Harmful Algae.
Raphael teaches at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, including participation in the
NASA Student Airborne Research Program.
vi
 Brief Contents

P ROLO GU E

The History of Oceanography   3

C HAPTER
9
The Tides  247

C HA P T E R
1
The Water Planet   25
C HAPTER
10
Coasts, Beaches, and Estuaries   267

C HA P T E R
2
Earth Structure and Plate Tectonics   49
C HAPTER
11
The Living Ocean   293

3
C HA P T E R

The Sea Floor and Its Sediments   83 C HAPTER

12
The Plankton, Productivity, and

4
C HA P T E R

The Physical Properties of Water   113

Food Webs  313

C HAPTER
13
5
C HA P T E R

The Chemistry of Seawater   133

The Nekton: Swimmers of the Sea   345

C HAPTER
14
6
C HA P T E R

The Atmosphere and the Oceans   153

The Benthos: Living on the Sea
Floor  373

7
C HA P T E R

Ocean Structure and Circulation   185

C HAPTER
15
Environmental Issues  401

Oceanography from SPACE  OS-1

C HAPTER
16
8
C HA P T E R

The Waves  217
The Oceans and Climate
Disruption  427

vii
 Contents

PRE FAC E x i i i

1.5 Modern Navigation 38

PRO LO GU E 1.6 Earth Is a Water Planet 39
Water on Earth’s Surface 39
Prologue: The History of Hydrologic Cycle 39
Reservoirs and Residence Time 41
Oceanography  3 Distribution of Land and Water 42
P.1 The Early Times 4 One World Ocean Divided into Five 42
Hypsographic Curve 43
P.2 The Middle Ages 7
P.3 Voyages of Discovery 8 Summary 46
P.4 The Importance of Charts and
Navigational Information 10
P.5 Ocean Science Begins 12
P.6 Early Expeditions of the Nineteenth and
Twentieth Centuries 13
C HAPTER
2
The Challenger Expedition 13 Earth Structure and Plate
Diving In: The Voyage of the Challenger, 1872–1876 14 Tectonics  49
The Voyage of the Fram 14
The Meteor Expedition 16 2.1 Earth’s Interior 50
Earthquake Waves Reveal Earth’s
P.7 Ocean Science in Modern Times 17 Layers 50
Establishing Oceanographic Institutions 17 Model 1: Layers with Different
Large-Scale, Direct Exploration of the Oceans 17 Mineral and Chemical
Diving In: “FLIP,” the Floating Instrument Platform 21 Compositions 51
Satellite Oceanography, Remote Sensing of the Oceans 22 Model 2: Layers with Different Strengths
and Physical Properties 53
Summary 23
Isostasy 54

1
2.2 History of a Theory:
CHAP T E R Continental Drift 55
2.3 Evidence for a New Theory: Seafloor
Spreading 57
The Water Planet   25 Evidence for Crustal Motion 60
1.1 Cosmic Beginnings 26 2.4 Plate Tectonics 65
Origin of the Universe 26 Plates and Their Boundaries 66
Origin of Our Solar System 27 Divergent Boundaries 66
Extraterrestrial Oceans 28 Transform Boundaries 68
Diving In: Origin of the Oceans 29 Convergent Boundaries 69
Early Planet Earth 31 Continental Margins 70
1.2 Earth’s Age and Time 31 Diving In: Recovery of Black Smokers 72
Earth’s Age 31 2.5 Motion of the Plates 74
Geologic Time 32 Mechanisms of Motion 74
Natural Time Periods 34 Rates of Motion 75
1.3 Earth’s Shape 35 Hotspots 76
1.4 Where on Earth Are You? 36 2.6 History of the Continents 78
Latitude and Longitude 36 The Breakup of Pangaea 78
Measuring Latitude 37 Before Pangaea 79
Longitude and Time 37 Summary 80

viii
 Contents ix

C HA P T E R
3 C HAPTER
5
The Sea Floor and Its The Chemistry of
Sediments 83 Seawater 133
3.1 Measuring the Depths 84 5.1 Salts 134
3.2 Seafloor Provinces 86 Dissolving Ability of Water 134
Continental Margins and Units of Concentration 134
Submarine Canyons 86 Ocean Salinities 135
Abyssal Plains 90 Dissolved Salts 136
Ridges, Rises, and Trenches 91 Sources of Salt 136
Diving In: Exploring the Mariana Trench 92 Regulating the Salt Balance 137
Residence Time 139
3.3 Sediments 93
Constant Proportions 140
Why Study Sediments? 93
Determining Salinity 140
Classification Methods 94
Particle Size 94 5.2 Gases 141
Location and Rates of Deposition 95 Distribution with Depth 141
Source and Chemistry 96 The Carbon Dioxide Cycle 142
Patterns of Deposit on the Sea Floor 101 The Oxygen Balance 142
Formation of Rock 103 Measuring the Gases 142
Sampling Methods 103 5.3 Carbon Dioxide and the Ocean 143
Sediments as Historical Records 104 The pH of Seawater 143
The Marine Carbonate System and ­Buffering pH 144
3.4 Seabed Resources 107
Sand and Gravel 107 Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide and Ocean Acidification 145
Phosphorite 107 5.4 Nutrients and Organics 146
Oil and Gas 107 Nutrients 146
Gas Hydrates 108 Organics 147
Manganese Nodules 109 5.5 Practical Considerations: Salt and Water 147
Sulfide Mineral Deposits 109 Chemical Resources 147
Summary 110 Desalination 148
Summary 150

C HA P T E R
4 C HAPTER
6
The Physical Properties The Atmosphere and the
of Water 113 Oceans 153
4.1 The Water Molecule 114 6.1 H
 eating and Cooling Earth’s
4.2 Temperature and Heat 114 Surface 154
4.3 Changes of State 117 Distribution of Solar
Radiation 154
4.4 Specific Heat 118
Heat Budget 154
4.5 Cohesion, Surface Tension, and
Annual Cycles of Solar Radiation 156
Viscosity 119 Specific Heat and Heat Capacity 157
4.6 Density 119
The Effect of Pressure 120
Diving In: Oceanography of Tidewater Glacier Margins:
The Effect of Temperature 120 Undergraduate Research on Svalbard 159
The Effect of Salt 121 6.2 Sea Ice and Icebergs 161
4.7 Transmission of Energy 122 Sea Ice 161
Heat 122 Icebergs 161
Light 123 6.3 Structure and Composition of the Atmosphere 162
Sound 126 Structure of the Atmosphere 162
Diving In: Acoustic Thermometry of Composition of Air 163
Carbon Dioxide and the Greenhouse Effect 163
Ocean Climate 129
Ozone 164
Summary 130
Diving In: Clouds and Climate 165
 Confirming Pages

x Contents

6.4 The Atmosphere in Motion 167 7.11 Measuring the Currents 210
Atmospheric Pressure 167 Diving In: Ocean Drifters 211
Winds on a Nonrotating Earth 168
Summary 214
The Effects of Rotation 168
Wind Bands 169
6.5 Modifying the Wind Bands 171
Seasonal Changes 171 Oceanography
The Monsoon Effect 172
The Topographic Effect 173
from
SPACE  OS-1

8
6.6 Hurricanes and Coastal Flooding 175
Hurricanes 175
C HAPTER
Coastal Flooding 175
6.7 El Niño–Southern Oscillation 179
Summary 182 The Waves 217
8.1 How a Wave Begins 218

C HAPT E R
7 Forces Influencing Waves 218
Two Types of Wind-Generated
Waves 219
Ocean Structure and 8.2 Anatomy of a Wave 220
8.3 Wave Speed 220
Circulation 185 8.4 Deep-Water Waves in
7.1 Ocean Structure 186 Detail 221
Variation of Temperature with Deep-Water Wave Motion 221
Depth 186 Deep-Water Wave Speed 222
Variation of Salinity with Storm Centers 222
Depth 187 Dispersion 222
Variation of Density with Depth 188 Group Speed 223
7.2 Thermohaline Circulation and Water Wave Interaction 223
Masses 190 Wave Height 224
Thermohaline Circulation 190 Episodic Waves 225
Water Masses 191 Wave Energy 226
7.3 The Layered Oceans 193 Wave Steepness 227
The Atlantic Ocean 193 Universal Sea State Code 227
The Pacific Ocean 194 8.5 Shallow-Water Waves in Detail 227
The Indian Ocean 194 Shallow-Water Wave Motion 227
The Arctic Ocean 194 Shallow-Water Wave Speed 228
Internal Mixing 195 Refraction 229
7.4 What Drives the Surface Reflection 230
Currents? 195 Diffraction 230
The Ekman Spiral and Ekman Transport 196 8.6 The Surf Zone 231
Ocean Gyres 196 Breakers 231
Geostrophic Flow 196 Water Transport and Rip Currents 232
7.5 Ocean Surface Currents 197 Energy Release 233
Pacific Ocean Currents 197 8.7 Tsunami 234
Atlantic Ocean Currents 198 Diving In: The March 11, 2011 Japanese Tsunami 236
Indian Ocean Currents 198
8.8 Internal Waves 238
Arctic Ocean Currents 198
Antarctic Currents 200
8.9 Standing Waves 241
The Indonesian Throughflow 200 8.10 Practical Considerations:
Energy from Waves 243
7.6 Current Characteristics 201
Current Speed 201 Summary 245
Current Volume Transport 201
Western Intensification 201
7.7 Eddies 203
7.8 Convergence and Divergence 204
C HAPTER
9
Langmuir Cells 204 The Tides 247
Permanent Zones 205
9.1 Tide Patterns 248
Seasonal Zones 206
9.2 Tide Levels 248
7.9 The Great Ocean Conveyor Belt 208
9.3 Tidal Currents 249
7.10 Changing Circulation Patterns 208
North Pacific Oscillations 208 9.4 Modeling the Tides 250
The Earth-Moon System 250
North Atlantic Oscillations 209

sve22932_FM_i-1.indd x 07/30/18 07:07 AM

 Confirming Pages

Contents xi

Earth and Moon Rotation 251 Temperature 300

The Sun Tide 252 Salinity 301
Spring Tides and Neap Tides 252 Diving In: Bioluminescence in the Sea 302
Declinational Tides 253 Buoyancy 304
Elliptical Orbits 254 Inorganic Nutrients 305
9.5 Real Tides in Real Ocean Basins 255 Dissolved Gases 306
The Tide Wave 255
11.6 Environmental Zones 307
Progressive Wave Tides 255
11.7 Marine Biodiversity 308
Standing Wave Tides 256
Tide Waves in Narrow Basins 258 Summary 310

12
9.6 Tidal Bores 258
9.7 Predicting Tides and Tidal Currents 259 C HAPTER
Tide Tables 259
Diving In: Measuring Tides from Space 260
Tidal Current Tables 261
The Plankton,
9.8 Practical Considerations: Energy from Productivity, and Food
Tides 262 Webs 313
Summary 264
12.1 The Marine

10
Photoautotrophs 314
C HA P T E R 12.2 The Plankton 314
12.3 Phytoplankton 315
Harmful Algal Blooms 319
Coasts, Beaches, and 12.4 Zooplankton 321
Estuaries 267 12.5 Bacterioplankton and Viruses 325
10.1 Major Coastal Zones 268 12.6 Primary Production 328
10.2 Types of Coasts 268 Diving In: Extremophiles 329
Primary Coasts 271 12.7 Measuring Primary Productivity 331
Secondary Coasts 272 12.8 Phytoplankton Biomass 333
10.3 Anatomy of a Beach 274 12.9 Controls on Productivity and Biomass 334
10.4 Beach Dynamics 276 12.10 Food Webs and the Biological Pump 336
Natural Processes 276 Food Webs 336
Coastal Circulation 277 Biological Pump 338
Diving In: Beach Dynamics: Tracking the ­ Marine Bacteria and Nutrients 339
Movement of Beach Sediment 279 12.11 Global Patterns of Productivity 340
10.5 Beach Types 281 Summary 342
10.6 Modifying Beaches 282
Coastal Structures 282
The Santa Barbara Story 283
The History of Ediz Hook 284
C HAPTER
13
10.7 Estuaries 285 The Nekton: Swimmers
Types of Estuaries 286
Circulation Patterns 287 of the Sea 345
Temperate-Zone Estuaries 288 13.1 The Nekton Defined 346
10.8 Regions of High Evaporation 288 13.2 Swimming Marine
10.9 Flushing Time 289 Invertebrates 347
Summary 290 13.3 Marine Reptiles 348
Sea Snakes 349

C HA P T E R
11 Sea Turtles 349
13.4 Marine Birds 349
13.5 Fish 351
The Living Ocean 293 Jawless Fish 353
Sharks and Rays 353
11.1 Evolution in the Marine Bony Fish 354
Environment 294 Deep-Sea Species of Bony Fish 355
11.2 The Flow of Energy 295 13.6 Marine Mammals 357
11.3 The Importance of Size 296 Sea Otters 359
11.4 Groups of Organisms 298 Walrus 359
11.5 Facts of Life in the Ocean 299 Polar Bears 359
Light 299 Seals and Sea Lions 360

sve22932_FM_i-1.indd xi 07/30/18 08:12 AM

xii Contents

Sea Cows 362 15.3 Plastic Trash 407

Whales 362 15.4 Eutrophication and Hypoxia 409
Whaling 364 15.5 Oil Spills 411
Marine Mammal Protection Act 366
Diving In: Impacts from the Deepwater Horizon Spill 414
Communication 368
15.6 Marine Wetlands 417
Diving In: Whale Falls 369
15.7 Biological Invaders 418
Summary 370
15.8 Overfishing and Incidental Catch 420
Trends in Fishing Pressure 420

CHAPT E R
14 Indirect Impacts 421
Fish Farming 422
Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management 423
The Benthos: Living on 15.9 Afterthoughts 423
the Sea Floor 373 Summary 424

16
14.1 The Benthic Environment 374
14.2 Seaweeds and Marine C HAPTER
Plants 374
General Characteristics of Benthic
Algae 374 The Oceans and Climate
Kinds of Seaweeds 378 Disruption 427
Marine Plant Communities 378
16.1 Earth as a Whole: The Oceans
14.3 Animals of the Rocky Shore 379
Tide Pools 382 and Climate 428
Submerged Rocky Bottoms 383 16.2 Earth’s Climate: Always
14.4 Animals of the Soft Substrates 385 Changing 429
Earth’s Past Climate 430
14.5 Animals of the Deep-Sea Floor 388 Earth’s Present Climate 430
14.6 Coral Reefs 390 Earth’s Future Climate 433
Tropical Corals 390
16.3 The Oceans in a Warmer World 435
Tropical Coral Reefs 391
Ocean Acidification 435
Coral Bleaching 392
Rising Sea Level 435
Predation and Disease 393
Winds, Waves, and Storms 436
Human Activities 393
Deep-Water Corals 393 Diving In: Arctic Sea Ice Loss, Mid-Latitude Extreme Weather,
and Superstorm Sandy 437
Diving In: Undersea Ultraviolet Radiation 394
Thermohaline Circulation 439
14.7 Deep-Ocean Chemosynthetic Communities 394 Biological Responses 440
Hot Vents 394
Cold Seeps 396
16.4 Mitigation Strategies 440
Ocean Energy 440
14.8 Symbiosis 396
Diving In: Extracting Energy Resources from the Oceans 442
Summary 398
Carbon Sequestration 444

15
The International Response 446
CHAPT E R Summary 446

Environmental Appendix A Scientific (or Exponential) Notation 449

Appendix B SI Units 451
Issues 401 Appendix C Equations and Quantitative Relationships 455
15.1 Human Impacts Through
Time 402
Glossary 459
15.2 Marine Pollution 402
Solid Waste Dumping 403 Credits 470
Sewage Effluent 404 Index 474
Toxicants 404
 Preface

∙ Chapter 6 Discussion of the Antarctic ozone hole and its

What’s New In This Edition? associated figures have been revised and updated. The data
New pedagogical features include revised/new figures and pho- provided in the figure related to the Multivariate ENSO
tographs that provide improved graphic illustration of ideas and index have been updated. A new Diving In box focusing
issues. New Diving In boxes authored by experts in their fields on climatically induced changes in tidewater glaciers in the
have been added to provide additional detailed information about Arctic has been added.
exciting and cutting edge issues in ocean sciences. Data and ∙ Chapter 8 New images are used to illustrate different types
concepts are updated throughout the text, including the addition of breaking waves and rip currents.
of critical terms to the glossary and a review of the appendices. ∙ Chapter 10 A new Diving In box discussing longshore
This edition is closely tied to online resources in Connect, which sediment transport has been added. Many images of pri-
support studying and learning for students as well as teaching and mary and secondary coasts have been replaced.
grading for instructors. Resources on Connect include figures, ∙ Chapter 12 The role of biological organisms in biogeo-
animations, movie clips, data analysis exercises, online quizzes, chemical cycling in the ocean has been expanded by adding
and course management software. details on nitrogen fixation and mineral ballasting.
∙ Chapter 13 Several photos of marine organisms have been
replaced with improved and updated images. The most
Specific Changes to Chapters recent data on whale populations have been included in the
tables.
∙ Prologue Discussion of the early migration of people
∙ Chapter 14 Additional details highlighting the importance
from Asia into the Pacific and Indian Ocean basins has
of benthic microalgae and meiofauna have been included.
been revised to reflect the latest evidence from anthropol-
∙ Chapter 15 Statistics on the impact of humans on the
ogy and archaeology. A revised figure illustrating this has
marine environment, including new information about the
been added.
projected contribution of plastics to pollution, have been
∙ Chapter 1 The “Origin of the Oceans” Diving In box has
updated. Several images were updated to provide better
been revised by discussing new evidence that Earth may
examples of the chapter material.
have formed as a wet planet with liquid surface water
∙ Chapter 16 Data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Cli-
from the very beginning of its history. The time boundar-
mate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report, released in
ies on the geologic timescale in Table 1.2 are completely
2014, have been included. A new Diving In box highlight-
revised.
ing extreme events such as Superstorm Sandy was added.
∙ Chapter 3 Several figures have been replaced with new
∙ Glossary New critical terms used in the text have been
images that improve illustration of concepts. A new Div-
added.
ing In box has been added describing a deep submersible
exploration of the Mariana Trench.
∙ Chapter 5 Discussion of carbon dioxide cycle has been
revised and the figure of major carbon dioxide pathways
has been extensively updated. In addition, the figures of the
Keeling curve have been updated.

xiii
xiv Preface

Acknowledgments Blinn College, Michael Dalman

Blinn College, Amanda Palmer Julson
As a book is the product of many experiences, it is also the prod-
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 Preface xv

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P ROLOGUE
The History of Oceanography

Learning Outcomes PROLOGUE OUTLINE

After studying the information in this chapter students P.1 The Early Times 4
should be able to: P.2 The Middle Ages 7
1. discuss the interaction of early civilizations with the oceans, P.3 Voyages of Discovery 8
P.4 The Importance of Charts and
2. sketch the major seafaring routes of the great voyages of
Navigational Information 10
discovery in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, James Cook’s
P.5 Ocean Science Begins 12
voyages of discovery, and the scientific voyages of Charles
P.6 Early Expeditions of the Nineteenth
Darwin and the Challenger expedition,
and Twentieth Centuries 13
3. list the major discoveries of the Challenger expedition, Diving In: The Voyage of the Challenger,
1872–1876 14
4. compare and contrast the methods of making scientific
P.7 Ocean Science in Modern Times 17
measurements in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries,
Diving In: “FLIP,” the FLoating Instrument
5. describe the difference in both the quantity of oceanographic Platform 21
data and the density of that data available to oceanographers Summary 23
now compared to the nineteenth century.

A sextant and marine charts. The sextant is an early navigational

aid first constructed by John Bird in 1759.

3
O
ceanography is a broad field in which many During the Paleolithic period, humans developed the barbed spear,
sciences are focused on the common goal of or harpoon, and the gorge. The gorge was a double-pointed stick
understanding the oceans. Geology, geography, inserted into a bait and attached to a string. At the beginning of the
Neolithic period, the bone fishhook was developed and later the
geophysics, physics, chemistry, geochemistry, mathematics,
net. By 5000 B.C., copper fishhooks were in use.
meteorology, botany, and zoology have all played roles in The remains of shells and other refuse, in piles known as
expanding our knowledge of the oceans. Oceanography is kitchen middens, have been found at the sites of ancient shore
often broken down into a number of subdisciplines. settlements. These remains show that our early ancestors gath-
Geological oceanography includes the study of Earth ered shellfish, and fish bones found in some middens suggest
at the sea’s edge and below its surface, and the history that they also used rafts or some type of boat for offshore fishing.
The artifacts that have been found probably give us only an idea
of the processes that form the ocean basins. Physical
of the minimum extent of ancient shore settlements. Drawings on
oceanography investigates the causes and characteristics ancient temple walls show fishnets; on the tomb of the Egyptian
of water movements such as waves, currents, and tides and Pharaoh Ti, Fifth Dynasty (5000 years ago), is a drawing of the
how they affect the marine environment. It also includes poisonous pufferfish with a hieroglyphic description and warn-
studies of the transmission of energy such as sound, light, ing. As long ago as 1200 B.C. or earlier, dried fish were traded
and heat in seawater. Marine meteorology (the study of in the Persian Gulf; in the Mediterranean, the ancient Greeks
caught, preserved, and traded fish, while the Phoenicians founded
heat transfer, water cycles, and air-sea interactions) is
fishing settlements, such as “the fisher’s town” Sidon, that grew
often included in the discipline of physical oceanography. into important trading ports.
Chemical oceanography studies the composition and history Early information about the oceans was mainly collected
of the water, its processes, and its interactions. Biological by explorers and traders. These voyages left little in the way of
oceanography concerns marine organisms and the recorded information. Using descriptions passed down from one
relationship between these organisms and the environment voyager to another, early sailors piloted their way from one land-
mark to another, sailing close to shore and often bringing their
in the oceans. Ocean engineering is the discipline that
boats up onto the beach each night.
designs and plans equipment and installations for use at sea. Some historians believe that seagoing ships of all kinds are
The study of the oceans was promoted by intellectual derived from early Egyptian vessels. The first recorded voyage by
and social forces as well as by our needs for marine sea was led by Pharaoh Snefru about 3200 B.C. In 2750 B.C., Hannu
resources, trade and commerce, and national security. led the earliest documented exploring expedition from Egypt to
Oceanography started slowly and informally; it began to the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea.
The Phoenicians, who lived in present-day Lebanon from
develop as a modern science in the mid-1800s and has
about 1200 to 146 B.C., were well-known as excellent sailors
grown dramatically, even explosively, in the last few and navigators. While their land was fertile it was also densely
decades. Our progress toward the goal of understanding populated, so they were compelled to engage in trade to acquire
the oceans has been uneven and progress has frequently many of the goods they needed. They accomplished this by estab-
changed direction. The interests and needs of nations as lishing land routes to the east and marine routes to the west.
well as the scholarly curiosity of scientists have controlled The Phoenicians were the only nation in the region at that time
that had a navy. They traded throughout the Mediterranean Sea
the ways we study the oceans, the methods we use to study
with the inhabitants of North Africa, Italy, Greece, France,
them, and the priority we give to certain areas of study. To and Spain. They also ventured out of the Mediterranean Sea to
gain perspective on the current state of knowledge about travel north along the coast of Europe to the British Isles and
the oceans, we need to know something about the events south to circumnavigate Africa in about 590 B.C.
and incentives that guided people’s previous investigations Evidence from anthropology and archaeology suggests that
of the oceans. the people who first explored and populated the Pacific and
Indian Ocean Basins migrated from Asia to the island of Taiwan
and then to the main island of Luzon in the north Philippines
sometime between 4500–2500 B.C. (fig. P.1a). These people
are known as the Austronesians. Over the next 1000 years they
moved progressively south through the rest of the Philippines
P.1 The Early Times and the nearby islands of the Celebes Sea, Borneo, and Indone-
People have been gathering information about the oceans for sia. This was relatively easy because of the comparatively short
millennia, accumulating bits and pieces of knowledge and passing distances between islands in the far southwestern Pacific region.
it on by word of mouth. Curious individuals must have acquired The Austronesians would travel west into the Indian Ocean basin
their first ideas of the oceans from wandering the seashore, wad- and east further into the Pacific Ocean basin. Those who traveled
ing in the shallows, and gathering food from the ocean’s edges. west reached present day Sulawesi, Java, and Sumatra around

4
 P.1 The Early Times 5

Taiwan

3500 B.C.? Hawaii Is.

Luzon
2500 B.C.

15
00
B.
C.
3000 200
0–15

A.D. 40
B.C. 00 B
Sumatra .C.

0
3000 B.C. 2500 B.C.
Java
0–1100
A.D. 40 Marquis Is.
.
Samoa 150 B.C
Madagascar
Fiji
1000 B.C. Society Is.
1300 B.C.
0 A.D. 300
Tonga . 95
A.D A.D
. 10
8 0 00 Pitcairn I.
. 12
Kermadec A.D Easter I.
Is.

Neuseeland

3000 kilometers at the equator

(a)

of the distinctive Polynesian culture. Polynesians

embarked on more extensive voyages, where the dis-
Taiwan tances between islands grew from tens of kilometers
Mariana Is. Hawaii
Philippines MICRONESIA in the western Pacific to thousands of kilometers in
Palau
Caroline Is. Marshall Is. the cases of voyages to the Hawaiian Islands and Eas-
POLYNESIA ter Island. There is some uncertainty about when they
Bismarck Arch. Kiribati settled specific regions. It is thought they reached and
New Guinea Solomon Is. Tuvalu Tokelau colonized Easter Island around A.D. 300, the Hawaiian
Marquesas Is.
MELANESIA
Santa Cruz Samoa Islands by about A.D. 400, and arrived in New Zea-
Vanuatu Cook Is. Tuamotu Arch.
Fidschi
Society Is.
Mangareva
land around A.D. 1280. By the early thirteenth century,
Australia New Caledonia Tonga Austral Is. Polynesians had colonized every habitable island in a
Kermadec Is.
Easter Island triangular region roughly twice the size of the United
Norfolk Is.
States, bound by Hawaii to the north, New Zealand to
the southwest, and Easter Island to the east (fig. P.1b).
Neuseeland
A basic component of navigation throughout
the Pacific was the careful observation and recording
of where prominent stars rise and set on the horizon.
(b) Observed near the equator, the stars appear to rotate
Figure P.1   (a) The migration of people across the Indian and Pacific Ocean from east to west on a north-south axis. Some rise and
basins. Specific dates are estimates from current research but may change set farther to the north and some farther to the south,
with further study. The pale dashed red border shows the maximum extent and they do so at different times. Navigators created
of known Austronesian migration. Austronesians migrated from Asia into the a “star structure” by dividing the horizon into thirty-
far western Pacific by 2500 B.C. They then moved west into the Indian Ocean two segments where their known stars rose and set.
and east into the Pacific Ocean. (b) The regions of Melanesia and Micronesia These directions form a compass and provide a refer-
in the Pacific Ocean were populated between 2000–1500 B.C. Polynesia was ence for recording information about the direction of
populated by 1000 B.C., and the Polynesians later extended their voyages winds, currents, waves, and the relative positions of
throughout a triangular-shaped region bounded by Easter Island to the east,
islands, shoals, and reefs (fig. P.2). The Polynesians
the Hawaiian Islands to the north, and New Zealand to the south.
also navigated by making close observations of waves
and cloud formations. Observations of birds and dis-
3000 B.C. and later, sometime between A.D. 400–1100, Madagas- tinctive smells of land such as flowers and wood smoke alerted
car (fig. P.1a). The Austronesians who traveled east populated them to possible landfalls. Once islands were discovered, their
the islands of Melanesia and Micronesia (fig. P.1b) between locations relative to one another and to the regular patterns of sea
2000–1500 B.C. They then continued east and began populating swell and waves bent around islands could be recorded with stick
the islands of Polynesia by 1000 B.C., leading to the development charts constructed of bamboo and shells (fig. P.3).
6 Prologue  The History of Oceanography

Figure P.2 On Satawal Island, master navigator Mau Piailug

teaches navigation to his son and grandson with the help of a star
compass. The compass consists of an outer ring of stones, each
representing a star or a constellation when it rises or sets on the
horizon, and an inner ring of pieces of palm leaf representing the
swells, which travel from set directions, and together with the
stars, help the navigator find his way over the sea. In the center of
the ring, the palm leaves serve as a model outrigger canoe.

Figure P.3 A navigational chart (rebillib) of the Marshall Islands.

As early as 1500 B.C., Middle Eastern peoples of many dif- Sticks represent a series of regular wave patterns (swells).
ferent ethnic groups and regions were exploring the Indian Curved sticks show waves bent by the shorelines of individual
Ocean. In the seventh century A.D., they were unified under Islam islands. Islands are represented by shells.
and controlled the trade routes to India and China and conse-
quently the commerce in silk, spices, and other valuable goods. also began to catalog marine organisms. The brilliant Eratosthe-
(This monopoly wasn’t broken until Vasco da Gama defeated the nes (c. 276–195 B.C.) of Alexandria, Egypt, invented the study of
Arab fleet in 1502 A.D. in the Arabian Sea.) geography as well as a system of latitude and longitude. He was
The Greeks called the Mediterranean “Thalassa” and believed the first person to calculate the tilt of Earth’s axis. One of his
that it was encompassed by land, which in turn was surrounded greatest achievements was his calculation of Earth’s circumfer-
by the endlessly circling river Oceanus. In 325 B.C., Alexander ence; he accomplished this without ever leaving Egypt (fig. P.4).
the Great reached the deserts of the Mekran Coast, now a part of Eratosthenes knew that at local noon on the summer solstice, the
Pakistan. He sent his fleet down the coast in an apparent effort to Sun would be directly overhead in the city of Syene, located on
probe the mystery of Oceanus. He and his troops had expected to the Tropic of Cancer at 23½°N. On that day and at that time, the
find a dark, fearsome sea of whirlpools and w
­ ater spouts inhabited Sun’s rays would shine down into a well in the city and illuminate
by monsters and demons; they did find tides that were unknown the bottom of the well. At the same time and day, the Sun’s rays
to them in the Mediterranean Sea. Pytheas (350–300 B.C.), a navi- would cast a shadow behind a pole in his home city of Alexandria
gator, geographer, astronomer, and contemporary of Alexander, due north of Syene. By measuring the height of the pole and the
made one of the earliest recorded voyages from the Mediterra- length of the shadow, Eratosthenes could calculate the angle away
nean to England. From there, he sailed north to Scotland, Norway, from perpendicular of the Sun’s elevation in Alexandria, which he
and Germany. He recognized a relationship between the tides and determined to be about 7.2°, or roughly 1/50 of a circle. Assum-
the Moon, and made early attempts at determining latitude and ing that the distance between the Sun and Earth is so large that
longitude. These early sailors did not investigate the oceans; for all of the Sun’s rays of light are parallel to each other when they
them, the oceans were only a dangerous road, a pathway from reach Earth, Eratosthenes could say that the angle between Syene
here to there, a situation that continued for hundreds of years. and Alexandria was also about 7.2°, or roughly 1/50 of a circle.
However, the information they accumulated slowly built into a Repeated surveys of the distance between Syene and Alexandria
body of lore to which sailors and voyagers added each year. yielded a distance of 5000 stadia, so Eratosthenes concluded that
While the Greeks traded and warred throughout the Medi­ Earth’s circumference was 252,000 stadia. The length of an Egyp-
terranean, they observed the sea and asked questions. Aristotle tian stadion was 157.5 m, so Eratosthene’s estimate of Earth’s cir-
(384–322 B.C.) believed that the oceans occupied the deepest cumference was 39,690 km (24,662 mi), an error of only about 1%
parts of Earth’s surface; he knew that the Sun evaporated water compared to today’s accepted average value of about 40,030 km
from the sea surface, which condensed and returned as rain. He (24,873 mi). Posidonius (c. 135–50 B.C.) reportedly measured an
 P.2 The Middle Ages 7

Parallel rays
from Sun

Shadow of pole
1/50 circle ~7°
Vertical pole
at Alexandria

(491 mi)
785 km
Center
of Earth

~7° 1/50 circle

Vertical well
at Syene

Figure P.4 Eratosthenes used geometry to calculate Earth’s circumference. By careful measurement, he was able to estimate Earth’s
circumference to within about 1% of today’s value. (The diagram is not drawn to scale.)

ocean depth of about 1800 m (6000 ft) near the island of Sar- piracy) were highly accomplished seamen who engaged in exten-
dinia, according to the Greek geographer Strabo (c. 63 B.C.– sive exploration, trade, and colonization for nearly three centuries
A.D. 21). Pliny the E
­ lder (c. A.D. 23–79) related the phases of the from about 793 to 1066 (fig. P.5). During this time, they journeyed
Moon to the tides and reported on the currents moving through inland on rivers through Europe and western Asia, traveling as
the Strait of Gibraltar. Claudius Ptolemy (c. A.D. ~85–161) pro- far as the Black and Caspian Seas. The Vikings are probably best
duced the first world atlas and established world boundaries: to known for their voyages across the North Atlantic Ocean. They
the north, the British Isles, Northern Europe, and the unknown sailed to Iceland in 871 where as many as 12,000 immigrants even-
lands of Asia; to the south, an unknown land, “Terra Australis tually settled. Erik Thorvaldsson (known as Erik the Red) sailed
Incognita,” including Ethiopia, Libya, and the Indian Sea; to the west from Iceland in 982 and discovered Greenland. He lived there
east, China; and to the west, the great Western Ocean reaching for three years before returning to Iceland to recruit more settlers.
around Earth to China. His atlas listed more than 8000 places Icelander Bjarni Herjolfsson, on his way to Greenland to join the
by latitude and longitude, but his work contained a major flaw. colonists in 985–86, was blown off course, sailed south of Green-
He had ­accepted a value of 29,000 km (18,000 mi) for Earth’s land, and is believed to have come within sight of Newfoundland
circumference. This value was much too small and led Columbus, before turning back and reaching Greenland. Leif Eriksson, son
more than 1000 years later, to believe that he had reached the of Erik the Red, sailed west from Greenland in 1002 and reached
eastern shore of Asia when he landed in the Americas. North America roughly 500 years before Columbus.
To the south, in the region of the Mediterranean after the
QUICK REVIEW fall of the Roman Empire, Arab scholars preserved Greek and
Roman knowledge and continued to build on it. The Arabic
1. Name the subfields of oceanography. writer El-Mas’údé (d. 956) gives the first description of the
2. What did early sailors use for guidance during long reversal of the currents due to the seasonal monsoon winds.
ocean voyages? Using this knowledge of winds and currents, Arab sailors estab-
3. What kind of “compass” did the Polynesians use for lished regular trade routes across the Indian Ocean. In the 1100s,
navigation? large Chinese junks with crews of 200 to 300 sailed the same
4. How long ago was Earth’s circumference first calculated routes (between China and the Persian Gulf) as the Arab dhows.
and how was it done? During the Middle Ages, knowledge of navigation increased.
5. How did Ptolemy’s atlas contribute to a greater Harbor-finding charts, or portolanos, appeared. These charts
understanding of world geography, and how did it carried a distance scale and noted hazards to navigation, but they
produce confusion? did not have latitude or longitude. With the introduction of the
magnetic compass to Europe from Asia in the thirteenth century,
compass directions were added.
P.2 The Middle Ages Although tides were not understood, the Venerable Bede
After Ptolemy, intellectual activity and scientific thought declined (673–735) illustrated his account of the tides with data from the
in Europe for about 1000 years. However, shipbuilding improved British coast. His calculations were followed in the tidal observa-
during this period; vessels became more seaworthy and easier to tions collected by the British Abbot Wallingford of Saint Alban’s
sail, so sailors could make longer voyages. The Vikings (Norse for Monastery in about 1200. His tide table, titled “Flod at London
8 Prologue  The History of Oceanography

Viking Routes
Earliest Leif Eriksson
Erik the Red Ingvar

c. 1000
c. 860

85
c.
8

c. 9
00 60°N

c.a. 1 0 4
c. 800
9

3
c. 7

1
40°N

20°N

120°W 90°W 60°W 30°W 0° 30°E 60°E

Figure P.5 Major routes of the Vikings to the British Isles, to Asia, and across the Atlantic to Iceland, Greenland, and North America.

Brigge,” documented the times of high water. Sailors made use

of Bede’s calculations until the seventeenth century.
As scholarship was reestablished in Europe, Arabic transla-
tions of early Greek studies were translated into Latin and thus
became available to European scholars. The study of tides con-
tinued to absorb the medieval scientists, who were also inter-
ested in the saltiness of the sea. By the 1300s, Europeans had
established successful trade routes, including some partial ocean
crossings. An appreciation of the importance of navigational
techniques grew as trade routes were extended.

QUICK REVIEW
1. What advances occurred during the Middle Ages that
allowed longer ocean voyages? 134 101 67 34 Meters 0
2. During the tenth century, which oceans were explored (a)
and by which cultures?
3. Where did the Vikings establish a large colony in the
North Atlantic?

P.3 Voyages of Discovery India

China

From 1405 to 1433, the great Chinese admiral Zheng He con- Ceylon
ducted seven epic voyages in the western Pacific Ocean and across Africa
the Indian Ocean as far as Africa. Zheng He’s fleet ­consisted of Zheng He’s
route
over 300 ships. The fleet is believed to have included as many
Java
as sixty-two “treasure ships” thought to have been as much as Sumatra
130 m (426 ft) long and 52 m (170 ft) wide; this was ten times the
size of the ships used for the European voyages of ­discovery dur- Sofala
ing this period of time (fig. P.6). The purpose of these v­ oyages
remains a matter of debate among scholars. Suggested reasons
include the establishment of trade routes, diplomacy with other
(b)
governments, and military defense. The voyages ended in 1433,
when their explorations led the Chinese to believe that other soci- Figure P.6 (a) Admiral Zheng He’s “treasure ships” were over
eties had little to offer, and the government of China withdrew 130 m long. In comparison, Christopher Columbus’s flagship,
within its borders, beginning 400 years of isolation. the Santa Maria, is estimated to have been about 18 m long.
(b) Zheng He’s probable route from China along the coast of the
In Europe, the desire for riches from new lands persuaded
Indian Ocean to Africa.
wealthy individuals, often representing their countries, to under-
write the costs of long voyages to all the oceans of the world. The
 P.3 Voyages of Discovery 9

and Portugal­, exploring nearly 10,000 km

(6000 mi) of South American coastline.
60°N He accepted South America as a new con-
tinent not part of Asia, and in 1507, Ger-
man cartographer M ­ artin Waldseemüller
40°N
applied the name “America” to the conti-
20°N nent in Vespucci’s honor. Vasco Núnẽ z de
Balboa (1475–1519) crossed the Isthmus
0° of Panama and found the Pacific Ocean
in 1513, and in the same year, Juan Ponce
20°S de León (1460?–1521) discovered Flor-
ida and the Florida Current. All claimed
40°S
the new lands they found for their home
countries. Although these men had sailed
60°S for fame and riches, not knowledge, they
more accurately documented the extent
150°E 180° 150°W 120°W 90°W 60°W 30°W 0° 30°E 60°E 90°E 120°E and properties of the oceans, and the news
of their travels stimulated others to follow.
B. Dias 1487 C. Columbus 1492 (First voyage) V. da Gama 1497–1502 Ferdinand Magellan (1480–1521) left
Spain in September 1519 with 270 men
Figure P.7 The routes of Bartholomeu Dias and Vasco da Gama around the Cape of Good and five vessels in search of a westward
Hope and Christopher Columbus’s first voyage. passage to the Spice Islands. The expedi-
tion lost two ships before finally discov-
individual most responsible for the great age of European discovery ering and passing through the Strait of Magellan and rounding
was Prince Henry the Navigator (1394–1460) of Portuga­l. In 1419, the tip of South America in November 1520. ­Magellan crossed
his father, King John, made him governor of Portugal’s southern- the Pacific Ocean and arrived in the Philippines in March 1521,
most coasts. Prince Henry was keenly interested in sailing and where he was killed in a battle with the natives on April 27,
commerce, and studied navigation and mapmaking. He established 1521. Two of his ships sailed on and reached the Spice Islands in
a naval observatory for the teaching of navigation, astronomy, November 1521, where they loaded valuable spices for a return
and cartography about 1450. From 1419 until his death in 1460, home. In an attempt to guarantee that at least one ship made it
Prince Henry sent expedition after ­expedition south along the west back to Spain, the two ships parted ways. The Victoria continued
coast of Africa to secure trade routes and establish colonies. These sailing west and successfully crossed the Indian Ocean, rounded
expeditions moved slowly due to the mariners’ belief that waters at Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, and arrived back in Spain on Sep-
the equator were at the boiling point and that sea monsters would tember 6, 1522, with eighteen of the original crew. This was the
engulf ships. It wasn’t until twenty-seven years after Prince Henry’s first circumnavigation of Earth (fig. P.8). Magellan’s skill as a
death that Bartholomeu Dias (1450?–1500) braved these “dangers” navigator makes his voyage probably the most outstanding single
and rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1487 in the first of the great contribution to the early charting of the oceans. In addition, dur-
voyages of discovery (fig. P.7). Dias had sailed in search of new ing the voyage, he established the length of a degree of latitude
and faster routes to the spices and silks of the East. and measured the circumference of Earth. It is said that Magellan
Portugal’s slow progress along the west coast of Africa in tried to test the mid-ocean depth of the Pacific with a hand line,
search for a route to the east finally came to fruition with Vasco da but this idea seems to come from a nineteenth-century German
Gama (1469–1524) (fig. P.7). In 1497, he followed Bar­tholomeu oceanographer; writings from Magellan’s time do not support this
Dias’s route to the Cape of Good Hope and then continued­beyond story.
along the eastern coast of the African continent. He successfully By the latter half of the sixteenth century, adventure, curi-
mapped a route to India but was ­challenged along the way by osity, and hopes of finding a trading shortcut to China spurred
Arab ships. In 1502, da Gama ­returned with a flotilla of fourteen efforts to find a sea passage around North America. Sir Martin
heavily armed ships and ­defeated the Arab fleet. By 1511, the Frobisher (1535?–94) made three voyages in 1576, 1577, and
Portuguese controlled the spice routes and had access to the Spice 1578, and Henry Hudson (d. 1611) made four voyages (1607,
Islands. In 1513, Portuguese trade extended to China and Japan. 1608, 1609, and 1610), dying with his son when set adrift in
Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) made four voyages Hudson Bay by his mutinous crew. The Northwest Passage con-
across the Atlantic Ocean in an effort to find a new route to the tinued to beckon, and in 1615 and 1616, William Baffin (1584–
East Indies by traveling west rather than east. By relying on inac- 1622) made two unsuccessful attempts.
curate estimates of Earth’s size, he badly underestimated the dis- While European countries were setting up colonies and
tances involved and believed he had found islands off the coast claiming new lands, Francis Drake (1540–96) set out in 1577 with
of Asia when, in fact, he had reached the New World (fig. P.7). 165 crewmen and five ships to show the English flag around the
Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci (1454–1512) made world (fig. P.8). He was forced to abandon two of his ships off
several voyages to the New World (1499–1504) for Spain
­ the coast of South America. He was separated from the other two
10 Prologue  The History of Oceanography

and time in section 1.4). In 1714, Queen Anne of

­England authorized a public reward for a practi-
60°N cal method of keeping time at sea, and the Brit-
ish Parliament offered 20,000 pounds sterling
40°N for a seagoing clock that could keep time with
an error not greater than two minutes on a voy-
20°N age to the West Indies from England. A York-
0° shire clockmaker, John Harrison, built his first
chronometer (high-­accuracy clock) in 1735, but
20°S not until 1761 did his fourth model meet the test,
losing only fifty-one seconds on the eighty-one-
40°S day voyage. Harrison was awarded only a por-
tion of the prize after his success in 1761, and
60°S it was not until 1775, at the age of eighty-three,
that he received the ­remainder from the reluc-
150°E 180° 150°W 120°W 90°W 60°W 30°W 0° 30°E 60°E 90°E 120 °E tant British government. In 1772, Captain James
Cook took a copy of the fourth version of Har-
F. Magellan 1519–22 rison’s chronometers to calculate longitude more
F. Drake 1577–80
Figure P.8 The sixteenth-century precisely (fig. P.9). This allowed him to produce
circumnavigation voyages by Magellan and Drake. accurate charts of new areas and correct previ-
ously charted positions.
ships while passing through the Strait of Magellan. During the Captain James Cook (1728–79) made his three great voyages­
voyage Drake plundered Spanish shipping in the Caribbean and in to chart the Pacific Ocean between 1768 and 1779 (fig. P.10). In
Central America and loaded his ship with treasure. In June 1579, 1768, he left England in command of the Endeavour­on an expe-
Drake landed off the coast of present-day Cali­fornia and sailed dition to chart the transit of Venus; he returned in 1771, having
north along the coast to the present United States–Canadian bor- circumnavigated the globe, and explored and charted the coasts
der. He then turned southwest and crossed the ­Pacific Ocean in of New Zealand and eastern ­Australia. Between 1772 and 1775,
two months’ time. In 1580, he completed his circumnavigation he commanded an expedition of two ships, the Resolution and
and returned home in the Golden Hind with a cargo of Spanish the Adventure, to the South Pacific. On this journey, he charted
gold, to be knighted and treated as a national hero. Queen Eliza- many islands, explored the Antarctic Ocean, and, by controlling
beth I encouraged her sea captains’ exploits as explorers and raid- his sailors’ diet, prevented vitamin C deficiency and scurvy, the
ers because, when needed, their ships and knowledge of the sea disease that had decimated crews that spent long periods of time
brought military victories as well as ­economic gains. at sea. Cook sailed on his third and last voyage in 1776 in the
Resolution and Discovery. He spent a year in the South Pacific
QUICK REVIEW and then sailed north, discovering the Hawaiian Islands in 1778.
He continued on to the northwest coast of North America and
1. Why do you think Zheng He’s epic voyage followed a into the Bering Strait, searching for a passage to the Atlantic.
route along the coast?
He returned to Hawaii for the winter and was killed by natives at
2. What stimulated the long voyages of the fifteenth and Kealakekua Bay on the island of Hawaii in 1779. Cook takes his
sixteenth centuries? place not only as one of histo-
3. Who was Amerigo Vespucci, and how was he honored? ry’s greatest navigators and sea-
4. Why was Magellan’s voyage of such great importance? men but also as a fine scientist.
5. What is the Northwest Passage and why was there so He made soundings to depths
much interest in finding it? of 400 m (1200 ft) and accu-
rate observations of winds,
currents, and water
P.4 The Importance of Charts temperatures. Cook’s
careful and accurate
and Navigational Information
As colonies were established far from their home countries and
Figure P.9 John
as trade, travel, and exploration expanded, interest was renewed
Harrison’s
in developing more accurate charts and navigational techniques. chronometer. A copy
As early as 1530, the relationship between time and longi- of this chronometer
tude had been proposed by Flemish astronomer Gemma Frisius, was used by Captain
and in 1598, King Philip III of Spain had offered a reward of James Cook on his 1772
100,000 crowns to any clockmaker building a clock that would voyage to the southern
keep ­accurate time onboard ship (see the discussion of longitude oceans.
 P.4 The Importance of Charts and Navigational Information 11

made the techniques of celestial navigation available for

the first time to every competent sailor and set the stage
60°N
for U.S. supremacy of the seas during the years of the
Yankee clippers.
40°N
In 1807, the U.S. Congress, at the direction of Presi-
20°N dent Thomas Jefferson, formed the Survey of the Coast
under the Treasury Department, later named the Coast
0°
and Geodetic Survey and now known as the National
20°S Ocean Survey. The U.S. Naval Hydrographic Office,
now the U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office, was set up in
40°S
1830. Both were dedicated to exploring the oceans and
producing better coast and ocean charts. In 1842, Lieu-
60°S tenant Matthew F. Maury (1806–73), who had worked
with the Coast and Geodetic Survey, was assigned to
150°E 180° 150°W 120°W 90°W 60°W 30°W 0° 30°E 60°E 90°E 120 °E
the Hydrographic Office and founded the Naval Depot
of Charts. He began a systematic collection of wind and
Cook’s first voyage 1768–71
current data from ships’ logs. He produced his first wind
Cook’s second voyage 1772–75
Figure P.10 The three voyages and current charts of the North Atlantic in 1847. At the
Cook’s third voyage 1776–79
of Captain James Cook. 1853 Brussels Maritime Conference, Maury issued a
plea for international cooperation in data collection, and
observations produced much valuable information and made him from the ships’ logs he received, he produced the first
one of the founders of oceanography. published atlases of sea conditions and sailing directions. His
In the United States, ­Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) became work was enormously useful, allowing ships to sail more safely
concerned about the time required for news and cargo to travel and take days off their sailing times between major ports around
between England and America. With Captain Timothy Folger the world. The British estimated that Maury’s sailing directions
(Franklin’s cousin and a whaling captain from Nantucket) he took thirty days off the passage from the British Isles to Califor-
constructed the 1769 Franklin-Folger chart of the Gulf Stream nia, twenty days off the voyage to Australia, and ten days off the
current (fig. P.11). When published, the chart encouraged cap- sailing time to Rio de Janeiro. In 1855, he published The Physi-
tains to sail within the Gulf Stream en route to Europe and return cal Geography of the Sea. This work includes chapters on the
via the trade winds belt and follow the Gulf Stream north again Gulf Stream, the atmosphere, currents, depths, winds, climates,
to Philadelphia, New York City, and other ports. Since the Gulf and storms, as well as the first bathymetric chart of the North
Stream carries warm water from low latitudes to high latitudes, Atlantic with contours at 6000, 12,000, 18,000, and 24,000 ft.
it is possible to map its location with satellites that measure sea
surface temperature. Compare the Franklin-Folger chart in f­ igure
P.11 to a map of the Gulf Stream shown in figure P.12 based
on the average sea surface temperature during 1996. In 1802,
Nathaniel Bowditch (1773–1838), another American, published
the New American Practical Navigator. In this book, Bow­ditch

–3 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
SST (°C)

Figure P.12 Annual average sea surface temperature for 1996.

Figure P.11 The Franklin-Folger map of the Gulf Stream, 1769. The red-orange streak of 25° to 30°C water shows the Gulf
Compare this map with figure P.12. Stream. Compare with figure 7.26.
12 Prologue  The History of Oceanography

Many marine scientists consider Maury’s book the first textbook Seas. He collected organisms in deep water and, on the basis of
of what we now call oceanography and consider Maury the first his observations, proposed a system of ocean depth zones, each
true oceanographer. Again, national and commercial interests characterized by specific animal populations. However, he also
were the driving forces behind the study of the oceans. mistakenly theorized that there was an azoic, or lifeless, envi-
ronment below 550 m (1800 ft). His announcement is curious,
QUICK REVIEW because twenty years earlier, the Arctic explorer Sir John Ross
(1777–1856), looking again for the Northwest Passage, had taken
1. Why was John Harrison’s clock important to open ocean
navigation? bottom samples at over 1800 m (6000 ft) depth in Baffin Bay
with a “deep-sea clamm,” or bottom grab, and had found worms
2. What did Captain James Cook’s voyages contribute to
and other animals living in the mud. Ross’s nephew, Sir James
the science of oceanography?
Clark Ross (1800–62), took even deeper samples from Antarctic
3. Why was Benjamin Franklin interested in the Gulf Stream?
waters and noted their similarity to the Arctic species recovered
4. Who was Matthew F. Maury, and what was his by his uncle. Still, Forbes’s systematic attempt to make orderly
contribution to ocean science? predictions about the oceans, his enthusiasm, and his influence
make him another candidate as a founder of oceanography.
Christian Ehrenberg (1795–1876), a German naturalist,
P.5 Ocean Science Begins found the skeletons of minute organisms in seafloor sediments
As charts became more accurate and as information about the and recognized that the same organisms were alive at the sea sur-
oceans increased, the oceans captured the interest of naturalists face; he concluded that the sea was filled with microscopic life
and biologists. Baron Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) and that the skeletal remains of these tiny organisms were still
made observations on a five-year (1799–1804) cruise to South being added to the sea floor. Investigation of the minute drift-
America; he was particularly fascinated with the vast numbers ing plants and animals of the ocean was not seriously undertaken
of animals inhabiting the current flowing northward along the until German scientist Johannes Müller (1801–58) began his
western coast of South America, the current that now bears his work in 1846. He used an improved fine-mesh tow net similar to
name. Charles Darwin (1809–82) joined the survey ship Beagle that used by Charles Darwin to collect these organisms, which he
and served as the ship’s naturalist from 1831–36 (fig. P.13). He examined microscopically. This work was continued by Victor
described, collected, and classified organisms from the land and Hensen (1835–1924), who improved the Müller net, introduced
sea. His theory of atoll formation is still the accepted explanation. the quantitative study of these minute drifting sea organisms, and
At approximately the same time, another English naturalist, gave them the name plankton in 1887.
Edward Forbes (1815–54), began a systematic survey of marine Although science blossomed in the seventeenth and eigh-
life around the British Isles and in the Mediterranean and Aegean teenth centuries, there was little scientific interest in the sea

60°N

40°N

20°N

0°

20°S

40°S

60°S

150°E 180° 150°W 120°W 90°W 60°W 30°W 0° 30°E 60°E 90°E 120 °E

Voyage of the Beagle 1831–36

Figure P.13 The voyage of Charles Darwin and the survey ship HMS Beagle, 1831–36.
 P.6 Early Expeditions of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries 13

except as we have seen for the practical reasons of navigation,

tide prediction, and safety. In the early nineteenth century, ocean
scientists were still few and usually only temporarily attracted to
the sea. Some historians believe that the subject and study of the
oceans were so vast, requiring so many people and such large
amounts of money, that government interest and support were
required before oceanography could grow as a science. This did
not happen until the nineteenth century in Great Britain.
In the last part of the nineteenth century, laying transatlan-
tic telegraph cables made a better knowledge of the deep sea a
necessity. Engineers needed to know about seafloor conditions,
including bottom topography, currents, and organisms that might
dislodge or destroy the cables. The British began a series of deep-
sea studies stimulated by the retrieval of a damaged cable from
more than 1500 m (5000 ft) deep, well below Forbes’s azoic
zone. When the cable was brought to the surface, it was found to Figure P.14 Bathybius haeckelii. English biologist Thomas Huxley
be ­covered with organisms, many of which had never been seen believed this to be a primoridial protoplasm covering the ocean
before. In 1868, the Lightning dredged between Scotland and the floor.
Faroe Islands at depths of 915 m (3000 ft) and found many ani-
mal forms. The British Admiralty continued these studies with P.6 Early Expeditions of the
the Porcupine during the summers of 1869 and 1870, dredging
up animals from depths of more than 4300 m (14,000 ft). Charles Nineteenth and Twentieth
Wyville Thomson (1830–82), like Forbes, a professor of natural Centuries
history at Edinburgh University, was one of the scientific leaders
of these two expeditions. On the basis of these results, he wrote The Challenger Expedition
The Depths of the Sea, published in 1873, which became very pop- With public interest running high, the Circumnavigation Com-
ular and is regarded by some as the first book on oceanography. mittee of the British Royal Society was able to persuade the Brit-
English biologist Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95), a close ish Admiralty to organize the most comprehensive oceanographic
friend and supporter of Charles Darwin, was particularly inter- expedition yet undertaken, using the Challenger. The Challenger
ested in studying the organisms that inhabit the deep sea. H­ uxley sailed from Portsmouth, England for a voyage that was to last
was a strong supporter of Darwin’s theory of evolution and nearly three-and-a-half years (fig. P.15). The first leg of the voy-
believed that the organisms of the deep sea could supply evidence age took the vessel to Bermuda, then to the South Atlantic island
of its validity. In 1868, while examining samples of mud recov- of Tristan da Cunha, around the Cape of Good Hope, and east
ered from the deep-sea floor of the Atlantic eleven years before across the southernmost part of the Indian Ocean. It continued
and preserved in alcohol, Huxley noticed that the surface of the on to Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Japan, and China.
samples was covered by a thick, mucus-like material with small Turning south to the Marianas Islands, the vessel took its deep-
embedded particles. Under the microscope it appeared as if these est sounding at 8180 m (26,850 ft) in what is now known as
particles moved, leading him to conclude that the mucus was a the Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench. Sailing across the
form of living protoplasm. Huxley named this “­ organism” Bathy- Pacific to Hawaii, Tahiti, and through the Strait of Magellan, it
bius haeckelii after the noted German naturalist Ernst Haeckel returned to England on May 24, 1876.
(fig. P.14). Haeckel, also a strong supporter of the theory of The numerous dredges of deep-sea sediments obtained dur-
evolution, viewed this protoplasm as the primordial ooze from ing the expedition failed to find any evidence of Bathybius haeck-
which all other life evolved. He believed it blanketed the deep- elii in fresh samples. One of the naturalists noticed, however,
sea floor and provided an inexhaustible supply of food for higher that when alcohol was added to a sample, something similar to
order organisms of the deep ocean. One of the primary scientific Bathybius haeckelii was produced. Rather than being the primi-
objectives of the Challenger expedition, described in the next tive life form from which all other organisms evolved, Bathybius
section, was to study the distribution of B­ athybius haeckelii. haeckelii was shown to be a chemical precipitate produced by the
reaction of the sediment with alcohol.
QUICK REVIEW The work of organizing and compiling information continued
1. How did Edward Forbes advance understanding of for twenty years. William Dittmar (1833–92) prepared the infor-
the oceans, and in what way was he mistaken? mation on seawater chemistry. He identified the major elements
2. How were the discoveries of John Ross and James present in the water and confirmed the findings of earlier chemists
Clark Ross similar? How did they differ? that in a seawater sample, the relative proportions of the major dis-
3 How did the desire to improve communication solved elements are constant. Oceanography as a modern science
between the United States and Europe help to is usually dated from the Challenger expedition. More information
advance oceanography? about this historic expedition is given in “Diving In: The Voyage
of the Challenger 1872–76.”
Diving The Voyage of the Challenger,
in 1872–1876
BY BETH SIMMONS

Dr. Beth Simmons, professor at

Metropolitan State College of
Denver, teaches basic oceanography
to landlubbers in Colorado. Enrolled
in over a dozen sections per
semester, both online and in the
classroom, Metro students—some
from as far away as Hawaii, Florida,
and California—take their first step
toward a lifelong dream of a career
in some phase of marine science.
During the Victorian Era, the British ruled the seas. After Charles Dar-
win made famous the four-year voyage of Her Majesty’s Ship [HMS]
Beagle (1832–36), British scientists clamored the government for
more voyages in the name of oceanic science (box fig. 1a). So, much
like the American space program of the twentieth century, the Brit- Box Figure 1a  “H.M.S. Challenger­—Shortening Sail to Sound,”
ish government initiated an oceanographic research program begin- decreasing speed to take a deep-sea depth measurement.
ning with two test cruises. Scientific probes made during the voyages
of the HMS Lightning, an old naval paddle-steamer, in 1868, and on
four voyages of the HMS Porcupine in 1869 and 1870 throughout the
North Atlantic and Mediterranean Seas, tested equipment and sam-
pling techniques in preparation for a global expedition.
On earlier experimental voyages in the 1840s, pioneering oceanog-
raphers had noticed the existence of life zones (layers of life) along the
shorelines and into the depths of the seas. One scientist, Edwin Forbes,
predicted that because of lack of sunlight and intense pressures, life
could not exist below 300 fathoms (1800 feet). Dredge hauls from the
Porcupine and Lightning proved that life, albeit in strange forms, existed
at all depths in the sea. The scientists wanted to know more!
To satisfy their interest and further map the ocean, the Royal
Navy replaced sixteen of the guns on HMS Challenger, a Pearl-class
corvette (a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship), with miles of
sampling rope, wire, thermometers, water bottles, and bottom sam-
plers. The ship sported a steam engine capable of holding the ship
in position during sampling and when there was a lack of wind in her
sails. Below deck were state-of-the-art natural history, chemical, and
physical testing laboratories (box fig. 1b). Charles Wyville Thomson, Box Figure 1b   Zoological laboratory on the main deck.

The Voyage of the Fram his ideas about the direction of ice drift in the Arctic by freez-
ing a vessel into the polar ice pack and drifting with it to reach
During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, ocean- the North Pole. To do so, he had to design a special vessel that
ography was changing from a descriptive science to a quanti- would be able to survive the great pressure from the ice; the 39 m
tative one. Oceanographic cruises now had the goal of testing (128 ft) wooden Fram (“to push forward”), shown in figure P.16,
hypotheses by gathering data. Theoretical models of ocean cir- was built with a smoothly rounded hull and planking over 60 cm
culation and water movement were developed. The Scandinavian (2 ft) thick.
oceanographers were particularly active in the study of water Nansen departed with thirteen men from Oslo in June
movement. One of them, Fridtjof Nansen (1861–1930), a well- 1893. The ship was frozen into the ice nearly 1100 km (700 mi)
known athlete, explorer, and zoologist, was interested in the cur- from the North Pole and remained in the ice for thirty-five
rents of the polar seas. This extraordinary man decided to test months. During this period, measurements were made through
14
 chemistry of ocean water constant? What was the green mud that
Ross had brought up from the depths of the Antarctic Ocean? What
was its extent on the ocean floor? And, of course, the Royal Navy
wanted to know—where did the oceanic currents flow? Where should
ships navigate to avoid hitting reefs or underwater volcanoes?
To keep the British public informed about the progress of the
three-year-long adventure into this new scientific realm, ships return-
ing to England from ports along the way toted samples, specimens,
and reports back to the motherland. As soon as the communiqués
reached London, well-established scientist and author Thomas Hux-
ley spread the facts about the new finds and their possible interpreta-
tions like a television news reporter, through newspaper essays and
lectures. Recognizing just one of the long-lasting impacts of the voy-
age’s data, in 1875, a year before the ship returned to port, Huxley
analyzed the seafloor sediments. He wrote:

The discoveries made by the Challenger expedition, like all

recent advances in our knowledge of the phenomena of
biology, or of the changes now being effected in the struc-
ture of the surface of the earth, are in accordance with, and
lend strong support to, that doctrine of Uniformitarianism,
which fifty years ago was held only by a small minority of
English geologists . . . but now . . . has gradually passed
from the position of a heresy to that of catholic doctrine.
Box Figure 1c   A biological dredge used for sampling bottom organ-
isms. Note the frame and skids that keep the mouth of the net open and The Challenger docked in Spithead, England, on May 24, 1876,
allow it to slide over the sea floor. having traversed almost 70,000 nautical miles. Scientists around the
world stepped forward to identify and describe 4717 new species taken
during 133 dredge samples and 151 trawl hauls (box fig. 1c). Physical data
one of Forbes’s former students—who was a professor of natural his- from almost 500 deep-sea soundings and over 250 water samplings
tory at University of Scotland at Edinburgh and the lead scientist for from depths down to and below 6000 feet showed the uniformity of
the previous oceanic research voyages—was the logical scientist ocean waters. Unfortunately, C. W. Thomson died shortly after the return
to head the extensive Challenger expedition. The unique scientific to England, but his copious notes, letters, and specimens kept scientists
equipment developed for the voyage was as technically advanced occupied for twenty years. Sketches of graceful, delicate glass sponges;
for its time as one of NASA’s space probes 100 years later. of clams; and of microscopic radiolarians, along with descriptions of
Sailing into familiar waters, HMS Challenger cast off from the “phosphatic” glowing fish, filled fifty volumes of reports that Thomson’s
dock at Sheerness, England, on December 21, 1872, with six scientists assistant, John Murray, compiled from the voyage of HMS Challenger.
(Charles W. Thomson, Henry Moseley, Rudolf von Willemoes-Suhm, The voyage of HMS Challenger established protocols followed by
John Buchanan, John Murray, and official artist, J. J. Wild) aboard the future explorers of ocean and space—planning, development of new
world’s most modern floating laboratory. The ship’s commanding offi- methods and tools and techniques, practice using new equipment,
cer, Captain George Nares; twenty naval officers, including surgeons publicity, and post-mission publications. Many countries—Norway, Ger-
and engineers; and 200 crew members supported the operation. many, France, Austria, the United States, Italy, and Russia—­followed
The Challenger’s mission was to answer fundamental questions suit with their own research missions. A new era of Earth and space
about the ocean. How deep is the sea? Is there really a mountain exploration had begun. In honor of this famous oceanographic voy-
range under the ocean? What is the salinity of the oceans? Is the age, NASA named the second space shuttle Challenger.

holes in the ice that showed that the Arctic Ocean was a deep- on the ice, living on seals and walrus. They were found by a
ocean basin and not the shallow sea that had been expected. British polar expedition in June 1896 and returned to Norway
Water and air temperatures were recorded, water chemistry in August of that year. The crew of the Fram continued to drift
was analyzed, and the great plankton blooms of the area were with the ship until they freed the vessel from the ice in 1896
observed. Nansen became­impatient with the slow rate of drift and returned home. Nansen’s expedition had laid the basis for
and, with F. H. Johansen, left the Fram locked in the ice some future Arctic work.
500 km (300 mi) from the pole. They set off with dogsleds After the expedition’s findings were published, Nansen
toward the pole, but after four and a half weeks, they were still continued to be active in oceanography, and his name is famil-
more than 300 km (200 mi) from the pole, with provisions run- iar today from the Nansen bottle, which he designed to collect
ning low and the condition of their dogs deteriorating. The two water samples from deep water. In 1905, he turned to a career
men turned away from the pole and spent the winter of 1895–96 as a statesman, working for the peaceful separation of Norway
15
16 Prologue  The History of Oceanography

60°N

40°N

20°N

0°

20°S

40°S

60°S

150°E 180° 150°W 120°W 90°W 60°W 30°W 0° 30°E 60°E 90°E 120 °E

Cruise of the Challenger, 1872–76

Figure P.15 The cruise of the Challenger, the first major oceanography research effort.

Figure P.16 (a) Fridtjof Nansen, from Sweden. After World War I, he worked with the League
Norwegian scientist, explorer, of Nations to ­resettle refugees, for which he received the 1922
and statesman (1861–1930), Nobel Peace Prize.
using a sextant to determine
his ship’s position. (b) The Fram
frozen in ice. As the ice pressure
increased, it lifted its specially
The Meteor Expedition
designed and strengthened hull The reliable and accurate measurement of ocean depths had
so that the ship would not be to wait until the development of the echo sounder, which was
crushed. given its first scientific use on the 1925–27 German cruise of
the Meteor. The Meteor expedition zigzagged between Africa
and South America, exploring the region from 20°N to 60°S.
(a) Measurements of water temperature, atmospheric observations,
water sampling, and studies of marine life were all conducted.
However, the expedition is best known for its first use of the echo
sounder. Over 67,000 depth soundings were made, demonstrat-
ing that the South Atlantic sea floor was not featureless, as pre-
viously thought. Instead, the depth soundings showed that the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge was a continuous feature in the South Atlan-
tic and continued into the Indian Ocean.

QUICK REVIEW
1. Discuss the significance of the Challenger expedition
and the Challenger reports.
2. What did Nansen discover about the depth of the
Arctic Ocean?
3. How was the Meteor expedition different from the
Challenger expedition?
4. What is the Meteor expedition best known for?
(b)
 P.7 Ocean Science in Modern Times 17

Also, in the first twenty years of the century, the Carnegie

P.7 Ocean Science in Modern Times Institute funded a series of exploratory cruises, including inves-
Establishing Oceanographic Institutions tigations of Earth’s magnetic field, and maintained a ­biological
laboratory. In 1927, a National Academy of Sciences committee
In the United States, government agencies related to the oceans recommended that ocean science research be expanded by creat-
proliferated during the nineteenth century. These agencies were ing a permanent marine science laboratory on the East Coast.
concerned with gathering information to further commerce, fish- This led to the establishment of the Woods Hole Oceanographic
eries, and the navy. After the Civil War, the replacement of sail Institution in 1930 (fig. P.17b). It was funded largely by a grant
by steam lessened government interest in studying winds and from the Rockefeller Foundation. The Rocke­feller Foundation
currents and in surveying the ocean floor. Private institutions allocated funds to stimulate marine research and to construct
and wealthy individuals took over the support of oceanography additional laboratories, and oceanography began to move onto
in the United States. Alexander Agassiz (1835–1910), mining university campuses. Teaching oceanography required that the
engineer, marine scientist, and Harvard University professor, subject material be consolidated, and in 1942, The Oceans, by
­financed a series of expeditions that greatly expanded knowledge Harald U. Sverdrup, Martin W. Johnson, and Richard H. Fleming,
of deep-sea biology. Agassiz served as the scientific director on was published. It captured nearly all the world’s knowledge of
the first ship built especially for scientific ocean exploration, the oceanographic processes and was used to train a generation of
U.S. Fish Commission’s Albatross, commissioned in 1882. He ocean scientists.
designed and financed much of the deep-sea sampling equipment Oceanography mushroomed during World War II, when
that enabled the Albatross to recover more specimens of deep- practical problems of military significance had to be solved
sea fishes in one haul than the Challenger had collected during quickly. The United States and its allies needed to move per-
its entire three-and-a-half years at sea. sonnel and materials by sea to remote locations, to predict ocean
One of Agassiz’s students, William E. Ritter, became a and shore conditions for amphibious landings, to know how
professor of zoology at the University of California–Berkeley. explosives behaved in seawater, to chart beaches and harbors
From 1892–1903, Ritter conducted summer field studies with his from aerial reconnaissance, and to use underwater sound to find
­students at various locations along the California coast. In 1903, submarines. Academic studies ceased as oceanographers pooled
a group of business and professional people in San Diego esta­ their knowledge in the national war effort.
blished the Marine Biological Association and invited ­Ritter to
locate his field station in San Diego permanently. With ­financial
support from members of the Scripps family, who had made a Large-Scale, Direct Exploration
fortune in newspaper publishing, Ritter was able to do this. This
was the beginning of the University of California’s Scripps Insti- of the Oceans
tution of Oceanography (fig. P.17a). The property and holdings After World War II, oceanographers returned to their classrooms
of the Marine Biological Association were formally transferred and laboratories with an array of new, sophisticated instruments,
to the University of California in 1912. including radar, improved sonar, automated wave detectors, and

(a) (b)

Figure P.17 (a) The Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California. Established in 1903 by William Ritter, a zoologist at the
University of California–Berkeley, with financial support from E. W. Scripps and his daughter Ellen Browning Scripps. The first permanent
building was erected in 1910. (b) Aerial view of three research vessels at the Iselin dock at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
 Confirming Pages

18 Prologue  The History of Oceanography

temperature-depth recorders. International cooperation brought

about the 1957–58 International Geophysical Year (IGY) pro-
gram, in which sixty-seven nations cooperated to explore the
sea floor and made discoveries that changed the way geologists
thought about continents and ocean basins. As a direct result of
the IGY program, special research vessels and submersibles were (a)
built to be used by federal agencies and university research pro-
grams. In the 1960s, electronics developed for the space program
were applied to ocean research. Computers went aboard research
vessels, and for the first time, data could be sorted, analyzed, and
interpreted at sea. This made it possible for scientists to adjust
experiments while they were in progress. Government funding
allowed large-scale ocean experiments. Fleets of oceanographic
vessels from many institutions and nations carried scientists who
studied all aspects of the oceans.
In 1968, the Deep Sea Drilling Program (DSDP), a coop-
erative venture among research institutions, began to sample
Earth’s crust beneath the sea using the specially built drill ship
Glomar Challenger (fig. P.18a) (see chapter 2). It was finally
retired in 1983 after fifteen years of extraordinary service.
The Glomar Challenger was named after the ship used during
the Challenger expedition. In 1983, DSDP became the Ocean
Drilling Program (ODP). The ODP was managed by an inter-
national partnership of fourteen U.S. science organizations and (b)
twenty-one international organizations called the Joint Oceano-
graphic Institutions for Deep Earth Sampling (JOIDES). The
ODP replaced the retired drilling ship Glomar Challenger with
a larger vessel, the JOIDES Resolution (fig. P.18b), named after
the HMS Resolution, used by Captain James Cook to explore the
Pacific Ocean basin over 200 years ago. The JOIDES Resolu-
tion started drilling operations in 1985 and was in continuous
service until ODP ended in 2003. The successor program to
ODP is the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP), an
international marine drilling program involving sixteen countries
and hundreds of scientists. The U.S. involvement is directed by a
group of institutions called the Joint Oceanographic Institutions
(JOI). IODP utilizes two major drilling vessels: the JOIDES Reso-
lution (which was extensively renovated and returned to service
in February 2009), operated by the United States; and a new ves-
sel, the Chikyu (fig. P.18c), built and operated by Japan. The
Chikyu hull was launched in January 2002, and initial sea trials
began in December 2004. Scientific drilling cruises began in
2007. The deepest hole drilled by the JOIDES Resolution to
date is 2111 m (6926 ft, about 1.3 mi). The Chikyu is designed to
drill up to 7500 m (24,600 ft) beneath the sea floor. The Chikyu’s
derrick height is 110 m (361 ft) above water level.
In 1970, the U.S. government reorganized its earth science
agencies. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) was formed under the Department of Commerce. NOAA
combined several formerly independent agencies, including the
National Ocean Survey, National Weather Service, National
(c)
Marine Fisheries Service, Environmental Data Service, National
Environmental Satellite Service, and Environmental Research Figure P.18 (a) The Glomar Challenger, the Deep Sea Drilling
Laboratories. NOAA also administers the National Sea Grant Program drill ship used from 1968–83. (b) The JOIDES Resolution,
College Program. This program consists of a network of twenty- the Ocean Drilling Program drill ship in use since 1985. (c) The
nine individual programs located in each of the coastal and Great drill ship Chikyu, the newest ocean drilling vessel.

sve22932_Prologue_002-023.indd 18 08/07/18 07:12 AM

 P.7 Ocean Science in Modern Times 19

Lakes states. The Sea Grant College Program encourages coop- chemical tracers to model circulation in the ocean and obtain data
eration in marine science and education among government, aca- to help predict the response of seawater circulation to long-term
demia, and industry. changes in atmospheric circulation. Ridge Interdisciplinary
The International Decade of Ocean Exploration (IDOE) Global Experiments and its successor Ridge 2000 (RIDGE/
in the 1970s was a multinational effort to survey seabed min- R2K) was a roughly twenty-year program that started in 1989.
eral resources, improve environmental forecasting, investigate It supported research into the physical, chemical, and biologi-
coastal ecosystems, and modernize and standardize the collec- cal processes that occur at the global mid-ocean ridge system.
tion, analysis, and use of marine data. This research was driven by the discovery of hydrothermal vents
At the end of the 1970s, oceanography faced a reduction in on mid-ocean ridges in 1977 and the discovery of black-smoker
funding for ships and basic research, but the discovery of deep- vents in 1979.
sea hot-water vents and their associated animal life and mineral In 1991, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commis-
deposits renewed excitement over deep-sea biology, chemistry, sion (IOC) recommended the development of a Global Ocean
geology, and ocean exploration in general. Instrumentation con- Observing System (GOOS) to include satellites, buoy networks,
tinued to become more sophisticated and expensive as deep-sea and research vessels. The goal of this program is to enhance
mooring, deep-diving submersibles, and the remote sensing of our understanding of ocean phenomena so that events such as
the ocean by satellite became possible. Increased cooperation El Niño (see chapter 6) and its impact on climate can be pre-
among institutions led to the integration of research at sea among dicted more accurately and with greater lead time. The successful
subdisciplines and resulted in large-scale, multifaceted research prediction of the 1997–98 El Niño six months in advance made
programs. This model for coordinated, interdisciplinary study of planning possible prior to its arrival.
the oceans continues to dominate oceanographic research today. An integral part of the GOOS is an international proj-
There are many additional examples of large-scale research ect called Argo, named after the mythical vessel used by the
efforts. The Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) project col- ancient Greek seagoing hero Jason. Argo consists of an array
lects real-time data from a massive array of nearly seventy of 3000 independent instruments, or floats, throughout the
moored buoys stretching across the tropical Pacific Ocean basin. oceans (fig. P.19a,b). Each float is programmed to descend to
These buoys support instruments that measure near-surface a depth of up to 2000 m (6560 ft, or about 1.25 mi), where it
atmospheric conditions and subsurface water temperature at ten remains for ten to fourteen days (fig. P.19c). It then ascends
depths in the upper 500 m (1640 ft). The first TAO buoys were to the surface, measuring temperature and salinity as it rises.
deployed in 1984 and the array was finished in 1994. The mission When it reaches the surface, it relays the data to shore via sat-
of the TAO project is to monitor tropical conditions in the Pacific ellite and then descends once again and waits for its next cycle.
in order to better predict the occurrence of El Niño (see chap- The floats drift with the currents as they collect and transmit
ter 6). The Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate (ATOC) data. In this fashion, the entire array will provide detailed tem-
project measured the travel time of sound waves over distances perature and salinity data of the upper 2000 m of the oceans
of the order of 5000 km (3100 mi). Because sound speed is a every ten to fourteen days. Argo floats have a life expectancy
function of water temperature, the travel time is a measure of the of four years. Roughly one-quarter of the floats will have to be
temperature of the water along the transmission path. Changes replaced each year.
in heat content of the northeast Pacific (an important climate The United Nations designated 1998 as the Year of the Ocean.
parameter) were monitored by acoustic transmission from Goals included: (1) a comprehensive review of national ocean
sources off California and Hawaii to eleven receivers in the east- policies and programs to ensure coordinated advancements
ern Pacific over a ten-year period from 1996 to 2006. This proj- leading to beneficial results and (2) raising public awareness
ect proved to be very successful in measuring sound travel times of the significance of the oceans in human life and the impact
with great accuracy, resulting in detailed models of temperature. that human life has on the oceans. Also in 1998, the National
The project was also plagued by concerns from the public about Research Council’s Ocean Studies Board released a report
the possible adverse effects of the sound transmissions on marine highlighting three areas that are likely to be the focus of future
mammals. Detailed studies of the potential effects ultimately research: (1) improving the health and productivity of the coastal
concluded that the ATOC transmissions had “no significant oceans, (2) sustaining ocean ecosystems for the future, and
biological impact.” The U.S. Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (3) predicting ocean-related climate variations.
(JGOFS) is one of the largest and most complex ocean bio- One of the largest and most ambitious research and edu-
geochemical research programs ever organized. Begun in 1988, cation programs under development is the National Science
the JGOFS program resulted in over 3000 ship days (more than Foundation’s Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI). The OOI
eight years) of research and 343,000 nautical miles of ship travel is designed to provide up to thirty years of continuous ocean
(almost sixteen times around the globe) before ending in 2003. measurements to study such fundamental scientific problems as
The goal of JGOFS research efforts was to measure and under- climate variability, ocean circulation, ecosystem dynamics, air-
stand on a global scale the processes controlling the cycling of sea interaction, seafloor processes, and plate tectonics. The OOI
carbon and other biologically active elements among the ocean, will consist of a network of instruments, undersea cables, and
atmosphere, and land. The World Ocean C ­ irculation Experi- instrumented moorings located in multiple regions of the West-
ment (WOCE) ran from 1990–2002. The WOCE involved using ern Hemisphere. The OOI will be one, fully integrated system
20 Prologue  The History of Oceanography

that will measure physical, chemical, geological, and biologi-

cal phenomena in selected global, regional, and coastal areas.
The global component will consist of a network of buoys with
sensors for measurement of air-sea fluxes of heat, moisture,
and momentum; physical, biological, and chemical properties
throughout the water column; and geophysical observations
made on the seafloor. The regional observatories are designed
to monitor processes along a single tectonic plate, using cables
to transmit both power and data between the instruments and
shore. The coastal OOI is comprised of two arrays: The Endur-
ance Array will be located in the Northeast Pacific off the coast
of Washington and Oregon; the Pioneer Array will be located
in the Northwest Atlantic off the coast of New England. These
arrays will be designed to monitor processes that occur between
land and sea, such as beach erosion, modifications of coastlines,
nutrient and carbon fluxes across the continental shelves, and
coastal circulation.
Although large-scale, federally funded studies are presently
in the forefront of ocean studies, it is important to remember that
studies driven by the specific research interests of individual sci-
entists are essential to point out new directions for oceanography
and other Earth sciences.

Figure P.19 (a) The Japanese coast guard cutter Takuyo

prepares to retrieve an Argo float (photo courtesy of the
International Argo Steering Team). (b) Schematic of an Argo
float. The float’s buoyancy is controlled by a hydraulic pump
that moves hydraulic fluid between an internal reservoir and an
external flexible bladder that expands and contracts. (c) A single
(a) measurement cycle involves the slow descent of the float to a
depth of up to 2000 m (6560 ft) where it remains for about ten
days before hydraulic fluid is pumped into the external bladder
and the float rises again to the surface to transmit data before
Satellite antenna descending again.

Temperature-salinity probe
Argo deployed
by ship or aircraft. Up to 12 hours at surface
to transmit data to satellite
Circuit boards and Satellite sends data to weather
satellite transmitter and climate forecasting centers
around the world.

Stability disk

Drift for 10 days Temperature and

Gear motor with ocean currents salinity profile
Battery recorded during ascent.
Single-stroke pump

Hydraulic pump (piston)

Oil pumped back to
Oil pumped from internal internal reservoir;
Hydraulic fluid Slow descent to 2000 m begins new cycle.
reservoir to inflate external
(6 hours at 10 cm/s) bladder; Argo rises.
Bladder

(b) (c)
Diving “FLIP,” the Floating
in Instrument Platform
BY GWYNNE RIFE

to turn the vessel into a buoy that can remain stable and float freely
at sea for up to 35 days. It offers a unique resource for obtaining data
Dr. Gwynne Rife is a science
and provides a stable platform for researchers to work from. To switch
educator and aquatic scientist at The
to the vertical position, FLIP is towed to a research site where ballast
University of Findlay. Her interests
tanks are flooded with 1500 tons of seawater to “flip” it while scien-
include invertebrate behavior
tists and crew literally “walk up the walls” to stay upright (box fig. 2).
and bioacoustics of the marine
environment.

As an undergraduate I was dedicated to pursuing studies in bioacous-

tics. I was sure that there was a way to decode the amazing vocaliza-
tions made by whales. As I read and studied, I learned of a research
vessel called the Floating Instrument Platform, or FLIP, that was specially
designed to aid in the study of acoustical signals in the oceans (box fig. 1).
FLIP is owned by the U.S. Navy and was conceived and devel-
oped at the Marine Physical Laboratory (MPL) of the Scripps Institu-
tion of Oceanography. FLIP was designed out of a need to provide
a stable platform for research activities by two Scripps scientists, Dr.
Fred Fisher and Dr. Fred Spiess, who wanted a more stable open-
ocean marine laboratory than a conventional research ship could
provide. FLIP was officially launched in June 1962, and underwent an
extensive refurbishing in 1995. Box Figure 2a   Seawater is pumped into FLIP’s ballast tanks to start
I had read about FLIP, but was not convinced that a vessel like the 90° flip from horizontal to vertical.
this could really flip. I was overjoyed to get to tour this amazing vessel
on a trip to visit my mentor while she was on sabbatical in San Diego,
California. When I pulled up to the slip where FLIP was moored, it was
not a huge, impressive ship at all. I was not sure I was going to enjoy
the tour until I stepped on deck and through a hatch to see two sinks
at a 90° angle, one sideways on the wall. Soon I wondered if I was now
standing on the floor or on the wall.
I must admit, my first question was not at all inspired; it was “How
does it flip?” The crew member just smiled and started to describe
what I am sure he had many times before; the amazing process of
how the 335-ft-long vessel takes on ballast water in 20 to 28 minutes

Box Figure 2b   FLIP in the stable vertical position, ready for a variety
Box Figure 1   Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Floating Instru- of scientific missions.
ment Platform, or FLIP, conducts sea trials off San Diego in May 2009. Continued next page—
21
Diving in Continued—

With only 55 ft (17 m) of the vessel above the­ This stable platform allows an incred-
surface and the remaining 300 ft (91 m) extend- ible array of precise data to be taken in
ing beneath the surface, scientists can conduct an otherwise impossible setting. Along
their research with minimal surface motion with the crew, it can support a research
disruption. team of up to eleven scientists. Two
When ballast water is pumped into the of the most valuable characteristics of
tanks, and as it flips, the crew of five oversees FLIP to these research teams are: (1) FLIP
the inner workings and checks all the equip- allows for at-sea stability that allows for
ment while it is moving. I was interested in the the deployment of extremely large sen-
bunk beds, as they hung from a swinging plat- sor arrays (one reported up to 2 miles in
form, “swivels and gimbals” I was told, so they length), and (2) FLIP provides a high-
will turn along with FLIP. Things that would not profile (25 m) observation post with 360°
rotate as easily, like sinks, are built both horizon- coverage for simultaneous visual and
tally and vertically in each room (box fig. 3). acoustical observations of marine mam-
During the flip, most things inside and mals. Other research projects supported
out slowly swing along with the change. I was by FLIP include the strange nighttime
intrigued at the refrigerator and stove combo chorusing behavior of fish, the behavior
in the galley that was also on a platform that of earthquake T-phases (P-waves that
would swing, but I was incredulous when I was travel through water) to study their prop-
told that the heads (what you call toilets on a agation through the ocean, the mirage
ship) also swiveled. With so much on the move, effect caused by bathymetry changes in
I asked if this transition always was smooth with shallow water, and the diving behavior of
all the planning and preparation for the big Box Figure 3   Two sinks at a 90° angle aboard blue whales determined by recordings
flip. The answer was that it almost always went FLIP for both vertical and horizontal use. of their vocalizations. Research studies
smoothly unless someone forgot to loosen any with titles that range from “Classifica-
of the gimbals before the flip, or, if someone forgot to re-tighten them tion of behavior using vocalizations of Pacific white-sided dolphins
afterwards. Apparently, the sound of a galley full of pots and pans (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens)” to “Dynamical coupling of wind and
spilling out of their cabinets was a tell-tale sign of a distracted crew ocean waves through wave-induced air flow” could only have been
member. And after all, who wouldn’t occasionally get distracted by accomplished with the quiet and steady FLIP and its crew to provide
the wall quickly becoming the floor? the conditions needed for arrays of hydrophones and deployment of
Each new area of FLIP showed its compact and efficient design. sensors that offer a precision no other research vessel can.
For example, the scientific instruments are built into the walls. As FLIP FLIP has reached fifty-plus years of amazing service to the Navy and
flips, so do the instruments, so that they are in a normal position when scientific community. With over 300 operations accomplished in many dif-
FLIP becomes vertical. Most rooms on FLIP have two doors—one to ferent areas of the World Ocean, FLIP shows no sign of becoming obso-
use when horizontal and one to use when flipped vertical. lete and remains the most unusual ocean research resource of its kind.

Satellite Oceanography, Remote information, but also details about Earth’s cloud cover, radiation
budget, and dynamic changes in the oceans.
Sensing of the Oceans Other satellites provide valuable information about the
The ability to collect data by remote sensing from satellites has topography and currents of the ocean’s surface. TOPEX/Posei-
increasingly allowed researchers to observe the sea surface and don (1992–2005) was launched as a joint U.S.-French mission,
ocean processes on a global scale. Currents, eddies, biological and was able to measure the surface height of 95% of the ice-free
productivity, sea-level changes, waves, sea surface temperature, ocean to an accuracy of 3.3 cm (1.3 in). A detailed understanding
and air-sea interactions are all monitored via satellite, allowing of variations in sea surface elevation provides invaluable infor-
scientists to develop computerized prediction models and to test mation about ocean circulation. A series of follow-on missions
them against natural phenomena. began with Jason-1 in 2001, Jason-2 in 2008, and the launch of
Over the past decades, satellite sensors used for oceanog- Jason-3 in 2014.
raphy have continued to evolve. NASA’s NIMBUS-7 satellite, Satellite oceanography began in 1978 and will continue long
launched in 1978, carried a sensor package called the Coastal into the future. Today, Earth is orbited by a constellation of satel-
Zone Color Scanner (CZCS), which gave us the first truly global lites providing valuable information for all aspects of oceanog-
view of the ocean’s chlorophyll distributions and productivity (fig. raphy. As the scientific community develops new and improved
P.20). Lasting until 1986, CZCS was eventually replaced by the sensors, methods, and questions, we continue to add to that con-
Sea-viewing Wide Field Sensor (SeaWiFS; 1997–2010) and the stellation, making it easier than ever before to track the pulse of
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS; launched the planet. More details can be found in the “Oceanography from
in 1999 and 2002). These sensors provide not only ocean color Space” section in the center section of the book.

22
 Summary 23

Figure P.20 False color image centered on the island of

Tasmania. Tasmania is located south of the eastern coast of
Australia. Yellow and reds indicate high concentrations of
phytoplankton, greens and blues low concentrations, and
dark blue and purple very low concentrations. The complex
current interactions, indicated by swirling color patterns, around
the island have significant influence on the distribution of
phytoplankton.

QUICK REVIEW
1. Compare the U.S. government’s support of
oceanography before and after World War II.
2. Cite some examples of large-scale, direct measurement
research programs and describe their mission.
3. Why are oceanographers interested in a global
approach to ocean science?
4. Why are oceanographers interested in data collected by
satellites as well as data collected from research vessels?
5. How do we collect deep samples of marine sediment?

Summary
Oceanography is a multidisciplinary field in which geology, geo- current charts and sailing directions and then wrote the first
physics, chemistry, physics, meteorology, and biology are all used book on oceanography.
to understand the oceans. Early information about the oceans was Ocean science began with the nineteenth-century expedi-
collected by explorers and traders such as the Phoenicians, the tions and research of Darwin, Forbes, Müller, and others. The
Polynesians, the Arabs, and the Greeks. Era­tosthenes calculated three-and-a-half-year Challenger expedition laid the foundation
the first accurate circumference of Earth, and Ptolemy produced for modern oceanography with its voyage, which gathered large
the first world atlas. quantities of data on all aspects of oceanography. Exploration of
During the Middle Ages, the Vikings crossed the North the oceans in Arctic and Antarctic regions was pursued by Nansen
­Atlantic, and shipbuilding and chartmaking improved. In the and Amundsen into the beginning of the twentieth century.
­fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Dias, Columbus, da Gama, In the twentieth century, private institutions played an impor-
Vespucci, and Balboa, as well as several Chinese explorers, made tant role in developing U.S. oceanographic research, but the largest
voyages of discovery. Magellan’s expedition became the first to single push came from the needs of the military during World War
circumnavigate Earth. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, II. After the war, large-scale government funding and international
some explorers searched for the Northwest Passage, while others cooperation allowed oceanographic projects that made revolution-
set up trading routes to serve developing colonies. ary discoveries about the ocean basins. Development of electronic
By the eighteenth century, national and commercial inter- equipment, deep-sea drilling programs, research submersibles,
ests required better charts and more accurate navigation tech- and use of satellites continued to produce new and more detailed
niques. Cook’s voyages of discovery to the Pacific produced information of all kinds. At present, oceanographers are focusing
much valuable information, and Franklin compiled a chart of their research on global studies and the management of resources
the Atlantic’s Gulf Stream. A hundred years later, the U.S. as well as continuing to explore the interrelationships of the chem-
Navy’s Maury collected wind and current data to produce istry, physics, geology, and biology of the sea.
 1
C H A P T ER
The Water Planet

Learning Outcomes CHAPTER OUTLINE

After studying the information in this chapter students 1.1 Cosmic Beginnings 26
should be able to: Diving In: Origin of the Oceans 29
1. explain the “Big Bang” theory of the origin of the universe, and 1.2 Earth’s Age and Time 31
describe its structure, 1.3 Earth’s Shape 35
1.4 Where on Earth Are You? 36
2. describe the origin of the solar system,
1.5 Modern Navigation 38
3. list two possible sources of the water in the oceans, 1.6 Earth Is a Water Planet 39
4. review how we have come to estimate Earth’s age as 4.5 to Summary 46
4.6 billion years, Key Terms 46
Study Problems 47
5. rank the eons and eras of geologic time in chronological order,
6. list and date the three major mass extinctions,
7. define and sketch lines of latitude and longitude,
8. calculate the difference in time between two locations of known
longitude,
9. diagram the hydrologic cycle, and
10. calculate the mean depth of the oceans using data in table 1.4.

Pier at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography,

University of California–San Diego.

25
 Confirming Pages

S
cientists make discoveries about Figure 1.1 The water planet.
the natural world by gathering Earth as seen from space.
data through observation and
experimentation. Scientific data must
be reproducible and must include
an estimate of error. After obtaining universe as having ini-
scientific data, scientists can propose tially been concentrated
an initial explanation of the data. This in an extremely hot,
is called a hypothesis. If the hypothesis dense singularity much
is supported consistently by different smaller than an atom.
Roughly 13.8 billion years
observations or experiments it may be
ago, this singularity expe-
advanced to the level of a theory. The great rienced a cataclysmic explo-
value of a theory is its ability to predict the sion that caused the universe to
existence of phenomena or relationships that had rapidly expand­and cool as it grew
not previously been recognized. larger. One second after the Big Bang,
In this chapter, you will learn about the most widely the temperature of the universe was about
10 billion K (roughly 1000 times the temperature
accepted theories for the birth of the universe and the
of the Sun’s interior). The Kelvin (K) temperature scale is an
formation of our planet, the nature and structure of Earth’s absolute temperature scale, so 0 K is absolute zero, the coldest
interior, and the methods used to measure geologic time possible temperature. At this temperature, all atoms and mol-
and calculate Earth’s age. ecules would stop moving. Room temperature is about 300 K
Earth is unique in our solar system by having a surface (see appendix B for conversions from K to °C and °F). At this
that is now covered mostly by liquid water. In this chapter, time, the universe consisted mostly of elementary particles, light,
and other forms of radiation. The elementary particles, such as
you will also investigate our water planet (fig. 1.1) by learning
protons and electrons, were too energetic to combine into atoms.
about the distribution of water, the movement of water from One hundred seconds after the Big Bang, the temperature had
one location to another, and the oceans where most of it cooled to about 1 billion K (roughly the current temperature in
is found. You will also discover how people find their way the centers of the hottest stars).
about the oceans.

1.1 Cosmic Beginnings

Origin of the Universe
For centuries, our concept of the nature of the universe was
governed by visual observations from Earth’s surface. Our cur-
rent understanding of its history and structure has been greatly
enhanced by observations made with instruments that are sensi-
tive to energy, from long wavelength radio waves to short wave-
length gamma rays. An example of one of these instruments is
the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) (fig. 1.2).
The HST was deployed in April 1990, in low-Earth orbit at
an altitude of 595 km (370 mi), and it circles Earth every ninety­
seven minutes. Because of its location above the atmosphere, the
2.4 m (94.5 in) reflecting telescope (the size of a reflecting tele-
scope refers to the diameter of its mirror) has an optical resolu-
tion, or image clarity, that is about ten times better than the best
ground-based telescopes can achieve. It can detect objects one- Figure 1.2 The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a joint
billionth as bright as the human eye is capable of detecting. venture between the European Space Agency and the National
In recent years, observational data have provided increasing Aeronautics and Space Administration. It was proposed in the
evidence that the universe originated in an event known as the Big 1940s, designed and constructed in the 1970s and 1980s, and
Bang. The Big Bang model envisions all energy and matter in the began its operational life with its launch in 1990.
26

sve22932_ch01_024-047.indd 26 08/07/18 02:03 PM

 1.1 Cosmic Beginnings 27

The universe was now cool enough for protons and neutrons, and a diameter of about 100,000 light-years. A light-year is equal
the nuclei of hydrogen atoms, as well as nuclei of deuteriu­m, to the distance light travels in one year, which is 9.46 × 1012 km
helium, and lithium, to begin to form. While the temperature (5.87 × 1012 mi). The observable universe contains from 10 ­billion to
was still very high, the universe was dominated by the radiation. 100 billion galaxies. Galaxies are preferentially found in groups
Later, as the universe cooled, matter took over. Eventually, when called clusters. A single cluster may contain thousands of galax-
the temperature had dropped to a few thousand ­degrees K, elec- ies. Clusters typically have dimensions of 1 million to 30 million
trons and nuclei would have started to combine to form atoms, light-years. Individual clusters tend to group in long, string-like
and strong interactions between matter and radiation ceased. It or wall-like structures called superclusters. ­Superclusters may con-
was then possible for small concentrations of matter to begin to tain tens of thousands of galaxies. The largest supercluster known
grow gravitationally. Denser, cooler regions pulled in additional is about 500 million light-years across. At very large scales, the
matter gravitationally, increasing their density even further. An ­universe looks something like a sponge, with galaxies arranged in
extraordinary composite image of the early universe is shown in interconnected lines and sheets interspersed with huge regions in
figure 1.3. This image was compiled from data obtained by the which very few ­galaxies are seen.
Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) satellite over a Throughout the universe, some stars are burning out or explod-
period of more than one year. It is essentially a temperature map ing; others are still forming, incorporating original matter from the
of the universe 380,000 years after the Big Bang, over 13 bil- Big Bang and recycling matter from older generations of stars. A
lion years ago. The spatial variation in temperature reflects the widely accepted model of the universe is that it consists of a com-
clumping of mass in the universe at that time. The WMAP is so bination of normal matter, which makes up atoms and the world
sensitive that it can resolve differences in temperature of only a around us; a very different substance known as dark matter; and
millionth of a degree. Roughly 200 million years after the Big an even more mysterious dark energy. Normal matter makes up an
Bang, gravity began to pull matter into the structures we see in estimated 4.6% of the universe, whereas roughly 24% of the uni-
the universe today, and the first stars were formed. verse is thought to be dark matter. Dark matter only interacts with
The universe has a distinct structure. On a small scale, there gravity; it doesn’t reflect, block, or emit light, so we cannot observe
are individual stars. Stars are responsible for the formation of it directly. The remaining 71.4% of the universe is thought to con-
elements heavier than lithium. Stars fuse hydrogen and helium in sist of dark energy, which acts like a negative gravity, causing the
their interiors to form heavier elements such as carbon, nitrogen, expansion of the universe to accelerate.
and oxygen. The higher temperatures of more massive stars con-
tinue the nuclear fusion process to create ­elements as heavy as Origin of Our Solar System
iron. These elements, so important in oceanographic processes, Present theories attribute the beginning of our solar system to
are created in stars and were not made by the Big Bang at the the collapse of a single, rotating interstellar cloud of gas and dust
formation of the universe. Some of these stars are at the center of that included material that was produced within older stars and
solar systems like our own, with planets that orbit them. dispersed into space when the old stars exploded. This rotating
Galaxies are composed of clumps of stars. Our galaxy, the cloud, or nebula, appeared about 5 billion years ago. The shock
Milky Way, is composed of about 200 billion stars. It is shaped wave from a nearby exploding star, or supernova, is thought to
like a flattened disk, with a thickness of about 1000 light-years have imparted spin to the cloud, pushing it together and causing
it to compress from its own gravitational pull. As the nebula col-
lapsed, its speed of rotation increased, and, heated by com-
pression, its temperature rose. The gas and dust, spinning
faster and faster, flattened perpendicular to the axis
of spin, forming a disk. At the center of the disk
a star, our Sun, was formed. Self-­ sustaining
nuclear reactions kept the Sun hot, but the outer
regions began to cool. In this cooler outer por-
tion of the rotating disk, molecules of gas and
dust began to collide, accrete (or stick together),
and chemically interact. The collisions and
interactions produced particles that grew from
further accretion and became large enough to
have sufficient gravity to attract still other parti-
cles. The planets of our solar system had begun
to form. After a few million years, the Sun was
Figure 1.3 The structure of the early universe about 380,000 years after the
Big Bang, as seen by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe satellite. Colors orbited by eight planets (in order from the Sun):
indicate “warmer” (red) and “cooler” (blue) spots. These patterns are extremely small Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,
temperature differences within an extraordinarily evenly dispersed microwave light Uranus, and Neptune (fig. 1.4).
bathing the universe, which now averages only 2.73 K. The difference in temperature If Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are com-
between the warmest and coolest regions in this image is only 400 µK (400 × 10–6 K). pared to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune,
 Silicates
Iron-nickel core
?

Mercury the four planets closer to the Sun are seen to be much smaller in
diameter and mass. (See table 1.1. Note use of metric units; see
Silicates appendix B for further information.) These four inner planets are
rich in metals and rocky materials. The four outer planets are cold
Iron-nickel core giants, dominated by ices of water, ammonia, and methane. Their
? atmospheres are made up of helium and hydrogen; the planets
?
located nearer the Sun lost these lighter gases because the higher
To same scale

temperature and ­intensity of solar radiation tend to push these

Venus gases out and away from the center of the solar system. In addition,
these inner ­planets are not massive enough for their gravitational
Silicates fields to ­prevent these lighter gases from escaping. If the mass of
each planet in table 1.1 is d­ ivided by its volume, the results will
Iron-nickel core show that the outer planets are composed of lighter, or less dense,
­materials than the inner planets.
Mantle
Crust
Earth Extraterrestrial Oceans
Silicates
Data obtained by NASA’s Voyager and Galileo spacecraft indi-
cate that two of Jupiter’s moons, Europa and Callisto, may have
Iron-nickel core oceans beneath their ice-covered surfaces (fig. 1.5a). ­Liquid
?
oceans are believed to be possible despite extremely cold sur-
Mars face temperatures, –162°C (–260°F) on Europa, because of heat
generated by friction due to the continual tidal deformation by
Molecular hydrogen Jupiter’s strong gravitational force.
gas changing to Some of the most compelling evidence for the presence of
liquid at base
these oceans has come from magnetic measurements made by
Metallic hydrogen
the Galileo spacecraft. Neither moon has a strong internal mag-
Water netic field of its own, but Galileo detected induced magnetic
Silicates fields around both moons, indicating that they both consist partly
of strongly conducting material.
To same scale

It is unlikely that the ice covering the moons can account for
the induced magnetic fields because ice is a poor electrical con-
ductor. Fresh water is also a relatively poor conductor, but water
Jupiter
with a high concentration of dissolved ions, such as seawater, is
Molecular a very good conductor. The most plausible explanation for the
hydrogen gas observed magnetic effect is that Europa and Callisto have liquid
Metallic hydrogen oceans containing salts beneath their surfaces. It is believed that
Water magnesium sulfate might be a major component of Europa’s water
Silicates
rather than sodium chloride, as is the case in Earth’s oceans.
One proposed model for Europa includes a surface ice layer
15 km (10 mi) thick, covering a 100 km (62 mi) deep ocean. If
this is the case, the Europan ocean would contain twice as much
Saturn
water as Earth’s oceans, and it would be roughly ten times deeper
Molecular hydrogen gas than the greatest depths below sea level on Earth. In c­ ontrast, one
Water
Silicates? model proposed for Callisto is a surface ice layer 100 km (62 mi)
thick, covering a 10 km (6.2 mi) deep ocean. If such oceans exist,
Earth they may provide a possible environment for life.
for comparison Uranus
Molecular hydrogen gas
In January 2004, two robotic rovers, Spirit and Opportu-
Water nity, landed on opposite sides of the planet Mars. Their mission
Silicates? has been to probe the rocks of Mars for signs of past or current
deposits of water, and they have succeeded in collecting both
Neptune chemical and physical data that strongly support the hypothesis
Figure 1.4 The composition of the planets. The inner rocky that water was once present.
planets have an iron core surrounded by a silicate shell. The Chemical analyses have discovered various kinds of salts in
outer gas planets feature a rocky core of unknown composition some Martian rocks. On Earth, rocks that contain equally large
surrounded by a large shell of hydrogen gas. amounts of these salts either formed in water or, after formation,
28
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Yet I spoke forth, with a great show of anger, that I, Ammaerln, vizier
and companion to the Rthr, did but walk and speak in confidence with
my liege lord.
But they persisted, Gholad foremost among them. And then one saw
the hidden corpse and in an instant they ringed me in.

Then did I draw the long blade and hold it at the throat of Qulqlan.
"Press me not, or your king will surely die," I said. And they feared me
and shrank back.
"Do you dream that I, Ammaerln, wisest of the wise, have come for
the love of far-voyaging?" I raged. "Long have I plotted against this
hour; to lure the king a-voyaging in this his princely yacht, his faithful
vizier at his side, that the Change might come on him far from his
court. Then would the ancient wrong be redressed.
"There are those men born to rule as inevitably as the dream-tree
seeks the sun—and such a one am I! Long has this one, now
mindless, denied to me my destiny. But behold: I, with a stroke, shall
set things aright.
"Below us lies a green world, peopled by savages. Not one am I to
take blood vengeance on a man newborn from the Change. Instead I
shall set him free to take up his life there below. May the Fates lead
him again to royal state if that be their will—"

But there were naught but fools among them and they drew steel. I
cried out to them that all, all should share!
But they heeded me not but rushed upon me. Then did I turn to
Qulqlan and drive the long blade at his throat, but Gholad threw
himself before him and fell, impaled in the throat. Then they pressed
me and I did strike out against three who hemmed me close, and
though they took many wounds they persisted in their madness, one
leaping in to strike and another at my back, so that I whirled and
slashed at shadows who danced away.
In the end I hunted them down in those corners whither they had
dragged themselves and each did I put to the sword. And I turned at
last to find the Rthr gone and some few with him, and madness took
me that I had been gulled like a tinker by common men.
In the chamber of the memory couch would I find them. There they
would seek to give back to the mindless one that memory of past
glories which I had schemed so long to deny him. Almost I wept to
see such cunning wasted. Terrible in my wrath I came upon them
there. There were but two and, though they stood shoulder in the
entry way, their poor dirks were no match for my long blade. I struck
them dead and went to the couch, to lay my hand on the cylinder
marked with the vile gold and black of Qulqlan, that I might destroy it
and, with it, the Rthr, forever—
And I heard a sound and whirled about. A hideous figure staggered to
me from the gloom and for an instant I saw the flash of steel in the
bloody hand of the accursed Gholad whom I had left for dead. Then I
knew cold agony between my ribs....

Gholad lay slumped against the wall, his face greenish above the
blood-soaked tunic. When he spoke air whistled through his slashed
throat.
"Have done, traitor who once was honored of the king," he
whispered. "Have you no pity for him who once ruled in justice and
splendor at High Okk-Hamiloth?"
"Had you not robbed me of my destiny, murderous dog," I croaked,
"that splendor would have been mine."
"You came upon him helpless," gasped Gholad. "Make some amends
now for your shame. Let the Rthr have his mind, which is more
precious than his life."
"I but rest to gather strength. Soon will I rise and turn him from the
couch. Then will I die content."
"Once you were his friend," Gholad whispered. "By his side you
fought, when both of you were young. Remember that ... and have
pity. To leave him here, in this ship of death, mindless and alone...."
"I have loosed the Hunters!" I shrieked in triumph. "With them will the
Rthr share this tomb until the end of time!"
Then I searched within me and found a last terrible strength and I
rose up ... and even as my hand reached out to pluck away the mind
trace of the king I felt the bloody fingers of Gholad on my ankle, and
then my strength was gone. And I was falling headlong into that dark
well of death from which there is no returning....

I woke up and lay for a long time in the dark without moving, trying to
remember the fragments of a strange dream of violence and death. I
could still taste the lingering dregs of some bitter emotion. For a
moment I couldn't remember what it was I had to do; then with a start
I recalled where I was. I had lain down on the couch and pulled the
head-piece into place—
It hadn't worked.
I thought hard, tried to tap a new reservoir of memories, drew a blank.
Maybe my Earth-mind was too alien for the Vallonian memory-trace to
affect. It was another good idea that hadn't worked out. But at least I
had had a good rest. Now it was time to get moving. First: to see if
Ommodurad was still asleep. I started to sit up—
Nothing happened.
I had a moment of vertigo, as my inner ear tried to accommodate to
having stayed in the same place after automatically adjusting to my
intention of rising. I lay perfectly still and tried to think it through.
I had tried to move ... and hadn't so much as twitched a muscle. I was
paralyzed ... or tied up ... or maybe, if I was lucky, imagining things. I
could try it again and next time—
I was afraid to try. Suppose I tried and nothing happened—again?
This was ridiculous. All I had to do was sit up. I—
Nothing. I lay in the dark and tried to will an arm to move, my head to
turn. It was as though I had no arm, no head—just a mind, alone in
the dark. I strained to sense the ropes that held me down; still
nothing. No ropes, no arms, no body. There was no pressure against
me from the couch, no vagrant itch or cramp, no physical sensation. I
was a disembodied brain, lying nestled in a great bed of pitch-black
cotton wool.
Then, abruptly, I was aware of myself—not the gross mechanism of
clumsy bone and muscle, but the neuro-electric field generated within
the massive structure of a brain alive with flashing currents and a
lightning interplay of molecular forces. A sense of orientation grew. I
occupied a block of cells ... here in the left hemisphere. The mass of
neural tissue loomed over me, gigantic. And "I" ... "I" was reduced to
the elemental ego, who possessed as a material appurtenance "my"
arms and legs, "my" body, "my" brain.... Relieved of outside stimuli I
was able now to conceptualize myself as I actually was: an
insubstantial state existing in an immaterial continuum, created by the
action of neural currents within the cerebrum, as a magnetic field is
created in space by the flow of electricity.
And I knew what had happened. I had opened my mind to invasion by
alien memories. The other mind had seized upon the sensory
centers, driven me to this dark corner. I was a fugitive within my own
skull.
For a timeless time I lay stunned, immured now as the massive
stones of Bar-Ponderone had never confined me. My basic self-
awareness still survived, but was shunted aside, cut off from any
contact with the body itself.
With shadowy fingers of imagination I clawed at the walls surrounding
me, fought for a glimpse of light, for a way out.
And found none.
Then, at last, I began again to think.
I must analyze my awareness of my surroundings, seek out channels
through which impulses from sensory nerves flowed, and tap them.
I tried cautiously; an extension of my self-concept reached out with
ultimate delicacy. There were the ranked infinities of cells, there the
rushing torrents of gross fluid, there the taut cables of the
interconnecting web, and there—
Barrier! Blank and impregnable the wall reared up. My questing
tendril of self-stuff raced over the surface like an ant over a melon,
and found no tiniest fissure.
I withdrew. To dissipate my forces was senseless. I must select a
point of attack, hurl against it all the power of my surviving identity.
The last of the phantom emotions that had clung—for how long?—to
the incorporeal mind field had faded now, leaving me with no more
than an intellectual determination to reassert myself. Dimly I
recognized this sign of my waning sense of identity but there was no
surge of instinctive fear. Instead I coolly assessed my resources—
and almost at once stumbled into an unused channel, here within my
own self-field. For a moment I recoiled from the outer configuration of
the stored patterns ... and then I remembered.
I had been in the water, struggling, while the Red soldier waited, rifle
aimed. And then: a flood of data, flowing with cold, impersonal
precision. And I had deftly marshalled the forces of my body to
survive.
And once more: as I hung by numbed fingers under the cornice of the
Yordano Tower, the cold voice had spoken.
And I had forgotten. The miracle had been pushed back, rejected by
the conscious mind. But now I knew: this was the knowledge that I
had received from the background briefing device that I had used in
my island strong-room before I fled. This was the survival data known
to all Old Vallonians of the days of the Two Worlds. It had lain here,
unused; the secrets of superhuman strength and endurance ... buried
by the imbecile censor-self's aversion to the alien.

But the ego alone remained now, stripped of the burden of neurosis,
freed from subconscious pressures. The levels of the mind were laid
bare, and I saw close at hand the regions where dreams were born,
the barren sources of instinctive fear-patterns, the linkages to the
blinding emotions; and all lay now under my overt control.
Without further hesitation I tapped the stored Vallonian knowledge,
encompassed it, made it mine. There again I approached the barrier,
spread out across it, probed in vain—
"... vile primitive...."
The thought thundered out with crushing force. I recoiled, then
renewed my attack, alert now. I knew what to do.
I sought and found a line of synaptic weakness, burrowed at it—
"... intolerable ... vestigial ... erasure...."
I struck instantly, slipped past the impervious shield, laid firm hold on
the optic receptor bank. The alien mind threw itself against me, but
too late. I held secure and the assault faded, withdrew. Cautiously I
extended my interpretive receptivity. There was a pattern of pulses,
oscillations in the lambda/mu range. I tuned, focussed—
Abruptly I was seeing. For a moment my fragile equilibrium tottered,
as I strove to integrate the flow of external stimuli into my bodiless
self-concept. Then a balance was struck: I held my ground and stared
through the one eye I had recaptured from the usurper.
And I reeled again!
Bright daylight blazed in the chamber of Ommodurad. The scene
shifted as the body moved about, crossing the room, turning.... I had
assumed that the body still lay in the dark but instead, it walked,
without my knowledge, propelled by a stranger.
The field of vision flashed across the couch. Ommodurad was gone.
I sensed that the entire left lobe, disoriented by the loss of the eye,
had slipped now to secondary awareness, its defenses weakened. I
retreated momentarily from my optic outpost, laid a temporary
traumatic block across the access nerves to keep the intruder from
reasserting possession, and concentrated my force in an attack on
the auricular channels. It was an easy rout. I seized on the nerve
trunk, then instantly reoccupied the eye, co-ordinated its impressions
with those coming in along the aural nerves ... and heard my voice
mouth a curse.

The body was standing beside a bare wall with a hand laid upon it. In
the wall a recess partly obscured by a sliding panel stood empty.
The body turned, strode to a doorway, emerged into a gloomy violet-
shadowed corridor. The glance flicked from the face of one guard to
another. They stared in open-mouthed surprise, brought weapons up.
"You dare to bar the path to the Lord Ammaerln?" My voice slashed
at the men. "Stand aside, as you value your lives."
And the body pushed past them, strode off along the corridor. It
passed through a great archway, descended a flight of marble stairs,
came along a hall I had seen on my tour of the Palace of Sapphires
and into the Onyx Chamber with the great golden sunburst that
covered the high black wall.
In the Great Owner's chair at the ringboard Ommodurad sat scowling
at the lame courtier whose red hair was hidden now under a black
cowl. Between them Foster stood, the heavy manacles dragging at
his wrists.
Ommodurad turned; his face paled, then flushed dark rose, teeth
bared.
The gaze of my eye fixed on Foster. Foster stared back, a look of
incredulity growing on his face.
"My Lord Rthr," my voice said. The eye swept down and fixed on the
manacles. The body drew back a step, as if in horror.
"You overreach yourself, Ommodurad!" my voice cried harshly.
Ommodurad stepped toward me, his immense arm raised.
"Lay not a hand on me, dog of a usurper!" my voice roared out. "By
the Gods, would you take me for common clay!"
And, unbelievably, Ommodurad paused, stared in my face.
"I know you as the upstart Drgon, petty Owner," he rumbled. "But I
trow I see another there behind your pale eyes."
"Foul was the crime that brought me to this pass," my voice said. "But
... know that your master, Ammaerln, stands before you, in the body
of a primitive!"
"Ammaerln...!" Ommodurad jerked as though he had been struck.
My body turned, dismissing him. The eye rested on Foster.
"My liege," my voice said unctuously. "I swear the dog dies for this
treason—"
"It is a mindless one, intruder," Ommodurad broke in. "Seek no favor
with the Rthr, for he that was Rthr is no more. You deal with me now."
My body whirled on Ommodurad. "Give a thought to your tone, lest
your ambitions prove your death!"

Ommodurad put a hand to his dagger. "Ammaerln of Bros-Ilyond you

may be, or a changeling from dark regions I know not of. But know
that this day I hold all power in Vallon."
"And what of this one who was once Qulqlan? What consort do you
hold with him you say is mindless?" I saw my hand sweep out in a
contemptuous gesture at Foster.
"An end to patience!" the Great Owner roared. He started toward my
body.
"Does the fool, Ommodurad, forget the power of the great
Ammaerln?" my voice said softly. And the towering figure hesitated
once more, searching my face. "The Rthr's hour is past ... and so is
yours, bungler and fool. Your self-delusion is ended." My voice rose in
a bellow: "Know that I ... Ammaerln, the great ... have returned to rule
at High Okk-Hamiloth...."
He threw back his head, and laughed a choked throaty laugh that
was half sob.
"Know, demon, or madman, or ancient prince of evil: for thirty
centuries have I brooded alone, sealed from an empire by a single
key!"
I felt the shock rack through and through the invader mind. This was
the opportunity I had hoped for. Quick as thought I moved, slashed at
the wavering shield, and was past it—
Upon the mind-picture of Foster's face was now superimposed
another: that of Qulqlan, Rthr of all Vallon, ruler of the Two Worlds!
And other pictures, snatched from the intruder mind, were present
now in the Earth-consciousness of me, Legion:
the vaults, deep in the rock under the fabled city of Okk-Hamiloth,
where the mind-trace of every citizen was stored, sealed by the Rthr
and keyed to his mind alone;
Ammaerln, urging the king to embark on a far-voyage, stressing the
burden of government, tempting him to bring with him the royal mind-
trace;
Qulqlan's acquiescence and Ammaerln's secret joy at the
advancement of his scheme;
the coming of the Change for the Rthr, aboard ship, far out in space,
and the vizier's bold stroke;
and then the fools who found him at the lifeboat ... and the loss of all,
all....
There my own lived memories took up the tale: the awakening of
Foster, unsuspecting, and his recording of the mind of the dying
Ammaerln; the flight from the Hunters; the memory-trace of the king,
that lay for three millennia among neolithic bones until I, a primitive,
plucked it from its place; and the pocket of a coarse fibre garment
where the cylinder lay now, on a hip of the body I inhabited and as
inaccessible to me as if it had been a million miles away.
But there was a second memory-trace—Ammaerln. I had crossed a
galaxy to come to Foster, and with me, locked in an unmarked pewter
cylinder, I had brought Foster's ancient nemesis.
I had given it life, and a body.
Foster, once Rthr, had survived against all logic and had come back
from the dead: the last hope of a golden age....
To meet his fate at my hands.

"Three thousand years," I heard my voice saying. "Three thousand

years have the men of Vallon lived mindless, with the power that was
Vallon locked away in a vault without a key. And now, you think to
force this mind—that is no mind—to unseal the vault?"
"I know it for a hopeless task," Ommodurad said. "At first I thought—
since he speaks the tongue of old Vallon—that he dissembled. But he
knows nothing. This is but the dry husk of the Rthr ... and I sicken of
the sight. I would fain kill him now and let the long farce end."
"Not so!" my voice cut in. "Once I decreed exile to the mindless one.
So be it!"
The face of Ommodurad twisted in its rage. "Your witless chatterings!
I tire of them."
"Wait!" my voice snarled. "Would you put aside the key?"
There was a silence as Ommodurad stared at my face. I saw my
hand rise into view. Gripped in it was Foster's memory-trace.
"The Two Worlds lie in my hand," my voice spoke. "Observe well the
black and golden bands of the royal memory-trace. Who holds this
key is all-powerful. As for the mindless body yonder, let it be
destroyed."
Ommodurad locked eyes with mine. Then, "Let the deed be done," he
said.
The red-head drew a long stiletto from under his cloak, smiling. I
could wait no longer....
Along the link I had kept through the intruder's barrier I poured the
last of the stored energy of my mind. I felt the enemy recoil, then
strike back with crushing force. But I was past the shield.
As the invader reached out to encircle me I shattered my unified
forward impulse into myriad nervous streamlets that flowed on, under,
over, and around the opposing force; I spread myself through and
through the inner mass, drawing new power from the trunk sources.
Now! I struck for the right optic center, clamped down with a death
grip.
The enemy mind went mad as the darkness closed in. I heard my
voice scream and I saw in vivid pantomime the vision that threatened
the invader: the red-head darting, the stiletto flashing—
And then the invading mind broke, swirled into chaos, and was
gone....

I reeled, shocked and alone inside my skull. The brain loomed, dark
and untenanted now. I began to move, crept along the major nerve
paths, reoccupied the cortex—
"I reeled, shocked and alone inside my skull. The brain loomed,
dark and untenanted now."

Agony! I twisted, felt again with a massive return of sensation my

arms, my legs, opened both eyes to see blurred figures moving. And
in my chest a hideous pain....
I was sprawled on the floor, I lay gasping. Sudden understanding
came: the red-head had struck ... and the other mind, in full rapport
with the pain centers, had broken under the shock, left the stricken
brain to me alone.
As through a red veil I saw the giant figure of Ommodurad loom,
stoop over me, rise with the royal cylinder in his hand. And beyond,
Foster strained backward, the chain between his wrists garroting the
red-head. Ommodurad turned, took a step, flicked the man from
Foster's grasp and hurled him aside. He drew his dagger. Quick as a
hunting cat Foster leaped, struck with the manacles ... and the knife
clattered across the floor. Ommodurad backed away with a curse,
while the red-head seized the stiletto he had let fall and moved in.
Foster turned to meet him, staggering, and raised heavy arms.
I fought to move, got my hand as far as my side, fumbled with the
leather strap. The alien mind had stolen from my brain the
knowledge of the cylinder but I had kept from it the fact of the pistol. I
had my hand on its butt now. Painfully I drew it, dragged my arm up,
struggled to raise the weapon, centered it on the back of the mop of
red hair, free now of the cowl ... and fired.
Ommodurad had found his dagger. He turned back from the corner
where Foster had sent it spinning. Foster retreated until his back was
at the wall: My vision grew dimmer. The great gold circles of the Two
Worlds seemed to revolve, while waves of darkness rolled over me.
But there was a thought: something I had found among the patterns
in the intruder's mind. At the center of the sunburst rose a boss, in
black and gold, erupting a foot from the wall, like a sword hilt....
The thought came from far away. The sword of the Rthr, used once,
in the dawn of a world, by a warrior king but laid away now, locked in
its sheath of stone, keyed to the mind-pattern of the Rthr, that none
other might ever draw it to some ignoble end.
A sword, keyed to the basic mind-pattern of the king....

I drew a last breath, blinked back the darkness. Ommodurad

stepped past me, knife in hand, toward the unarmed man.
"Foster," I croaked. "The sword...."
Foster's head came up. I had spoken in English; the syllables rang
strangely in that outworld setting. Ommodurad ignored the unknown
words.
"Draw ... the sword ... from the stone!... You're ... Qulqlan ... Rthr ...
of Vallon."
I saw him reach out, grasp the ornate hilt. Ommodurad, with a cry,
leaped toward him—
The sword slid out smoothly, four feet of glittering steel. Ommodurad
stopped, stared at the manacled hands gripping the hilt of the fabled
blade. Slowly he sank to his knees, bent his neck.
"I yield, Qulqlan," he said. "I crave the mercy of the Rthr."
Behind me I heard thundering feet. Dimly I was aware of Torbu
raising my head, of Foster leaning over me. They were saying
something but I couldn't hear. My feet were cold, and the coldness
crept higher. The winds that swept through eternity blew away the
last shred of ego and I was one with darkness....

Epilogue
I awoke to a light like that of a morning when the world was young.
Gossamer curtains fluttered at tall windows, through which I saw a
squadron of trim white clouds riding in a high blue sky.
I turned my head, and Foster stood beside me, dressed in a short
white tunic.
"That's a crazy set of threads, Foster," I said, "but on your build it
looks good. But you've aged; you look twenty-five if you look a day."
Foster smiled. "Welcome to Vallon, my friend," he said in English.
"Vallon," I said. "Then it wasn't all a dream?"
"Regard it as a dream, Legion. Your life begins today." Someone
came forward from behind Foster.
"Gope," I said. Then I hesitated. "You are Gope, aren't you?" I said in
Vallonian.
He laughed. "I was known by that name once," he said, "but my true
name is Gwanne."
My eyes fell on my legs. I saw that I was wearing a tunic like Foster's
except that mine was pale blue.
"Who put the dress on me?" I asked. "And where's my pants?"
"This garment suits you better," said Gope. "Come. Look in the
glass."
I got to my feet, stepped to a long mirror, glanced at the reflection.
"It's not the real me, boys," I started. Then I stared, open-mouthed. A
Hercules, black-haired and clean-limbed, stared back. I shut my
mouth ... and his mouth shut. I moved an arm and he did likewise. I
whirled on Foster.
"What ... how ... who...?"
"The mortal body that was Legion died of its wounds," he said, "but
the mind that was the man was recorded. We have waited many
years to give that mind life again."
I turned back to the mirror, gaped. The young giant gaped back. "I
remember," I said. "I remember ... a knife in my guts ... and a red-
headed man ... and the Great Owner, and...."
"For his crimes," told Gope, "he went to a place of exile until the
Change should come on him. Long have we waited."

I looked again and now I saw two faces in the mirror and both of
them were young. One was low down, just above my ankles, and it
belonged to a cat I had known as Itzenca. The other, higher up, was
that of a man I had known as Ommodurad. But this was a clear-eyed
Ommodurad, just under twenty-one.
"Onto the blank slate we traced your mind," said Gope.
"He owed you a life, Legion," Foster said. "His own was forfeit."
"I guess I ought to kick and scream and demand my original ugly
puss back," I said slowly, studying my reflection, "but the fact is, I like
looking like Mr. Universe."
"Your earthly body was infected with the germs of old age," said
Foster. "Now you can look forward to a great span of life."
"But come," said Gope. "All Vallon waits to honor you." He led the
way to the tall window.
"Your place is by my side at the great ringboard," said Foster. "And
afterwards: all of the Two Worlds lie before you."
I looked past the open window and saw a carpet of velvet green that
curved over foothills to the rim of a forest. Down the long sward I
saw a procession of bright knights and ladies come riding on
animals, some black, some golden palomino, that looked for all the
world like unicorns.
My eyes travelled upward to where the light of a great white sun
flashed on blue towers. And somewhere in the distance trumpets
sounded.
"It looks like a pretty fair offer," I said.
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