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U.S. Coast Survey
President Thomas Jefferson authorizes the United States Coast Survey. This Survey was done to get complete and accurate charts of the US coastline (navigation). -
Life is Discovered in the Deep Sea
Charles Wyville Thomson discovers sea life at 4,389 meters below sea level. He was the first marine biologists to describe life in the deepest depths of the ocean (scientific research). -
Challenger Expedition
A marine research program named after the naval ship the HMS challenge, that made many important discoveries and was the beginning of oceanography. (scientific research) -
The Titanic Sinking
The English ship Titanic sinks after it hit an iceberg, killing 1,500 people. The tragedy led the development of an acoustic device that finds objects ahead of a vessel (navigation). -
The Bathysphere
William Beebe is lowered in a tethered bathysphere, a manned spherical chamber for deep-sea observation,down 923 meters into the ocean. He and partner Otis Barton started manned exploration of the ocean (scientific research). -
The Aqua-Lung
Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnan modify a breathing regulator to engineer the Aqua-Lung, introducing the world to scuba diving (scientific research and recreation). -
An Underwater Lab
An underwater habitat, Sealab II, is lowered off the coast of California (scientific research). -
Woman Leads Aquanauts
Sylvia Earle leads the first team of women aquanauts and sets the record for solo diving to 1000 meters below sea level (scientific research) -
Sunken Titanic is Discovered
Robert Ballard and a team of researchers discovers the Titanic 3,810 meters (12,500 feet) down. This was the most famous shipwreck in modern history (scientific research and trade). -
Creating Sea Surface Maps
TOPEX/Poseidon satellite begins mapping the surface of the sea (scientific research, navigation, and trade). -
Creation of Sea Floor Maps
Worldwide mapping of the seafloor which is the measurement of water depth of any body of water (scientific research and navigation).