| Present - 1990 |
 |
| 2010-2007 |
Launch of salinity satellites.
Salinity
measurements taken from space. |
| 2002 |
|
The International Council for the Exploration
of the Seacelebrates its 100th Birthday.
|
| 2000 |
SLFMR is flown over
Charleston Harbor, producing a 2 km salinity map. |
| 1995 |
RADARSAT, Canada's first
earth observation satellite, is launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base
in California.
|
| 1990 |
|
The World Ocean Circulation Experiment
collected physical and chemical measurements from every ocean.
|
|
1989-1980
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|
| 1984 |
Marc Garneau
becomes the first
Canadian in space.
|
| 1981 |
The Canadarm makes its first voyage
aboard the US Space Shuttle Columbia.
|
|
1979-70 |
|
| 1978 |
Nimbus-7
carrying the CZCS (Costal Zone Colour Scanner) measures ocean colour as
a proxy for biological ocean pigment.
|
| 1978 |
PSU - Practical Salinity Scale
is introduced as a scale on which the salinity of ocean water is evaluated.
|
| 1978 |
Seasat
carries a scatterometer providing wind speed and
direction over the ocean.
|
| 1973 |
Skylab
carries a microwave system called S193, an altimeter, whose purpose was
to "to provide ocean state effects on pulse characteristics".
ESMR
(Electrically Scanning Microwave Radiometer) uses microwave, all-weather
capability to measure sea-ice extent.
|
| 1972 |
Telesat Canada
launches the first domestic commercial communications satellite in geostationary orbit.
|
| 1970 |
The Canadian Scientific Ship Hudson
completes its circumnavigation of North and South America.
|
|
1969-1950 |
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|
| 1969-1972 |
Great Salinity Anomaly when the
ocean's salinity dropped significantly for a period of time. For more
information, see VCOSS Poster I.
|
| 1966 |
Redefinition of salinity in terms
of chlorinity
Nimbus-2
provides analog image of the thermal changes across the Gulf Stream.
|
| 1964 |
Nimbus-1,
the first satellite in sun-synchronous orbit, maps sea ice using visible
electromagnetic radiation.
|
| 1962 |
The Bedford Institute
of Oceanography opens.
|
| 1957 |
Launch of the first
Earth-orbiting artificial satellite, Sputnik
I (launched by the Soviet Union).
|
| 1950 |
Conductivity Salinometers
gradually phase out Knudsen's titration method.
|
|
1948-1900 |
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|
| 1940 |
Jacobsen
and Knudsen propose pure silver as
the ultimate standard for Salinity (or chlorinity) measurements.
|
| 1921 |
Martin Knudsen
develops the Knudsen bottle for taking accurate water samples and
temperature readings at depth.
|
| 1910 |
Fridtjof Nansen attaches a water
bottle and a pair of thermometers to a line to take ocean water samples
at depth. Known as the Nansen bottle.
|
| 1908 |
|
St.
Andrews Biological Station
is chosen as Atlantic Canada's first permanent Marine Laboratory.
|
| 1900 |
Martin Knudsen produces equations
for the density and salinity of water. Also initiates production of
Standard Sea Water certified in Chlorinity out of Copenhagen, by which
all measurement equipment is still calibrated.
|
|
1800's |
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|
| 1898 |
Konstantin
Tsiolkovsky proposes the idea of space exploration by rocket.
For his research and vision, he is called the father of modern astronautics.
|
| 1884 |
Constant composition of seawater established by
Dittmar.
|
| 1800 |
Jon Joly calculates the age of
the Earth from the current salinity of the ocean, assuming that it was
originally fresh water, and the salt was derived from the erosion of
the continents. Gave an approximate age of 90 million years.
|
| 1876 |
Challenger expedition returns
after four years. British scientists made the first comprehensive survey
of ocean salinity.
|
| 1865 |
Georg Forchhammer introduces the
term "salinity" and determines 27 elements in sea water.
|
| 1817 |
Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac uses titrimetry
to develop a simple and accurate method to determine seawater salt composition.
|
|
1700's |
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|
| 1775 |
Antoine Laurent Lavoisier predicts
that all substances on earth can be found in seawater, assuming that
salt is Earth runoff.
|
| 1770 |
Admiral P. Patton shows that Mediterranean
water is denser and saltier than Atlantic water.
|
| 1744 |
Bergman uses evaporation and precipitation
to carry out a detailed examination of all natural waters. Also develops
a list of the substances in seawater.
|
| 1720 |
L.F. Marsigli makes the first study
of regional oceanography by analyzing water samples and observing the
currents between the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Notes that increased
salinity (due to evaporation) changes the normal currents.
|
|
1600-1000 |
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|
| 1674 |
Robert Boyle publishes Observations
and Experiments on the Saltness of the Sea which measured salinity
in seawater by either evaporating a pound of seawater or by precipitating
the salt using silver nitrate.
|
|
1500's |
Johann
Schmidlap invents the multi-staged rocket capable of achieving much higher altitudes. Originally used in fireworks, this is the basic
idea for all modern rockets.
|
| 1578 |
W. Bourne suggests that the saltiness
of the sea is due to the water mixing with dissolved minerals.
|
| 1232 |
First documented
use of rockets by the Chinese during
the battle of Kai-Keng.
|
|
pre 1000 AD |
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|
| 50AD |
Plinius Secundus,
or Pliny the Elder
first documents the relationship between the tides and the phases of the
moon.
|
| 30AD |
First documented gunpowder made from saltpeter, sulfur
and charcoal dust - used in fireworks for celebrations.
|
| 450BC |
Yi Dun develops a method for boiling
ocean water in iron pans to produce salt. This becomes one of the leading
techniques for salt making for the next 2000 years.
|
| 900BC |
Greeks first use term okeanos,
root for our word ocean.
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