Oceans
Almost until the middle of XX century. it was thought that the world’s oceans – it’s just a set of deep troughs in the relief of the planet, filled with salt water. The main thing is focused on the islands and continents, of course. It is they focused their greedy eyes of travelers and adventurers during the Great Geographical Discoveries. Beginning with the first voyages of Christopher Columbus in America in the late XV century. before the opening of Russian navigators Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev Antarctica at the beginning of the XIX century.  About the oceans in all that time knew only that they are much larger area than the entire land. Under the water of the oceans remained a huge unknown world, of life in which one could only speculate on the basis of short observations and speculation construct different hypotheses. Under the assumptions, especially science fiction, there was no shortage, however, even imagination could not match the reality. Oceanographic Expedition, carried out – Britain – mistress of the seas at the time – on the corvette “Challenger” in 1872 – 1876 years. , Brought such number of completely new information that over the processing of collected materials have to work 70 scientists during the entire 20 years. It was the first special expedition of this magnitude. The published results of the study consisted of 50 large volumes (29,482 pages and 2279 maps, drawings and pictures).
Was discovered that the bottom of the world’s oceans – is not plain, there is deep, more than 5 km basin is the mountain ranges and isolated mountains. For the first time it was established that in the depths of the ocean there is life, in spite of prevailing here is constantly darkness and cold.  For the first time from the depths of the wreckage had been raised hardened lava rocks and ore minerals … Much of what we now know about the ocean, was discovered for the first time. Yet the expedition Challenger just lifted the veil on the edge of the unknown to us the world of the ocean depths.
Following the example of Britain, such studies have begun, and other countries. Now every marine expedition necessarily producing certain oceanographic measurements.In each flight research vessels, and later also with the use of submersibles were mined and extracted all the new data about the nature of the world’s oceans.
An avalanche of new facts buried under an old, naive understanding of the oceans as simple depressions. Created a new geography – the geography of the ocean floor. New knowledge about previously unknown animals and plants on the physical and chemical properties and laws of motion of the ocean waters, the underwater geological processes are not well-known land-based …
Study the world’s oceans show that there is, perhaps, any one of the sciences that would not find application in the study of “World of Silence” as a figurative (and wrong!) Is called the ocean.  So we will not set itself an impossible task to review all areas of modern oceanography – a comprehensive science of natural processes in the ocean.Let us confine ourselves to the most important discoveries, facts, and laws pertaining to the ocean, in order to get an idea of it as a unified whole. In this case, we follow the remarkable accuracy of his definition of Peter Weil. Professor of Oceanography of the New York State University, given in his famous book “Popular oceanography”: “Oceanography is a combination of art, adventure and science.