The subject of Oceanography might have found a new entrance in the field of science, but the history and the roots of it dates way back centuries ago when the people started venturing the various coastlines with their rafts for finding something new. Although their motif behind visiting them might be different from what the oceanographers do now, but the concept of quest remained the same between the both. But whatever be the reason for the exploration, the oceans that they needed to explore then and the ocean that they explore now remains the same. So they had to take some of the common means to explore them- like the waves, the storms, the tides in order to ascertain the currents and then determine the directions to be taken. They generally sought for fishes and foods and got to understand that ocean water is too salty to be drunk down. All these experiences and understandings actually went down the line over thousands of years from one generation to the other through myths and legends.
Researchers like Alex Potoczak have mentioned that such a diverse topic of oceanography has been mainly categorized in four major sub-disciplines- the biological oceanography, physical, geological and chemical oceanography. All of the individual researchers of specific discipline have got their base same, but they extend their further studies in any one of these streams in particular. The biological oceanographers study how each of these sub disciplines of oceanography work together in harmony or have got individual impact on the abundance of the plants and animals under the water, or how the micro organisms in the marine life play their crucial role in maintaining the balance of the environment.
They mainly deal with the aqua life beneath and fish out information about the fishes. Like all other creatures even the marine life has got their adaptive capability, and with the increasing case of pollution, there have been considerable changes for the lives beneath. Be it a volcanic eruption underneath the ocean bed, or the artificial spilling of the oils and other chemicals in the ocean, all these factors leave a deep impact on the natural environment of the aqua life and they need to adapt themselves accordingly.
The physical oceanographers on the other hand studies the relationship between the physical properties of the ocean like the atmosphere, seafloor, coasts and investigate the density of the water, temperature, tidal currents and how they interact within to leave affect the marine life. They have come up to a conclusion that the global warming will over the years slow the conveyor belt and change the climatic patterns radically. Since the ice caps will melt, and the level of the water will rise, the salty nature of the sea water will decrease and there will be a deep impact on the density of the water accordingly. All these factors cumulate together to have some considerable amount of change in the lives that fight within to exist.
There have been various technological advancements which help the oceanographers like Alex Potoczak in progressing with their research work. They not only want to learn new things, they try to resolve the critical issues as well. They make sure that their studies have some long lasting impact on the society and the balance between the land and water remains intact for the survival of the planet Earth.