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James Alden map it in 1852
source: National Geographic -
Naturalist Louis Agassiz steams from the U.S. East Coast to its West Coast around South America, collecting some 30,000 marine specimens.
Source: National Geographic -
The Titanic sinks after hitting an iceberg, killing 1,500 people. The tragedy led to efforts to develop an acoustic device to find objects ahead of a vessel.
Source: National Geographic -
Reginald Fessenden uses an oscillator to bounce a signal simultaneously off an iceberg and the seafloor, the first acoustic exploration of the seas.
Source: National Geographic -
The German Meteor expedition surveys the South Atlantic with echo sounders, proving the continuity of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
Source: National Geographic -
Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnan modify a demand breathing regulator to engineer the Aqua-Lung, forever changing the course of human interaction with the sea.
Source: National Geographic -
The French research submersible FNRS-3 descends to 4,041 meters (13,257 feet) off the coast of West Africa, piloted by Georges Houot and Pierre Willm, inaugurating use of manned, untethered, research submersibles.
Source: National Geographic -
The U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey ship Pioneer, in a joint project with the U.S. Navy and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, tows the first marine magnetometer and finds magnetic striping on the seafloor off the West Coast. The discovery adds a key element to the theory of plate tectonics.
Source: National Geographic -
The bathyscaphe Trieste dives to what was believed to be the deepest point in the Mariana Trench, recording a depth of 10,912 meters (35,800 feet). Exploring the same area in 1998, a Japanese research vessel measured a depth of 10,938 meters (35,886 feet).
Source: National Geographic -
Sylvia Earle leads the first team of women aquanauts during the Tektite Project and sets a record for solo diving to a depth of 1,000 meters.
Source: National Geographic