Oceanography has been defined as “The application of all sciences to the study of the sea.”
海洋学被定义为“研究大海的所有科学应用”。
Before the nineteenth century scientists with an interest in the sea were few and far between. Certainly Newton considered some theoretical aspects of it in his writings, but he was reluctant to go to sea to further his work．
在十九世纪以前，对海洋感兴趣的科学家是极少数的。当然，牛顿在他的著作中考虑了海洋的一些理论方面，但他不愿意出海继续他的工作。
For most people the sea was remote, and with the exception of early intercontinental travelers or others who earned a living from the sea, there was little reason to ask many questions about it, let alone to ask what lay under the surface. The first time that the question “What is at the bottom of the oceans?” had to be answered with any commercial consequence was when the laying of a telegraph cable from Europe to America was proposed. The engineer had to know the depth profile of the route to estimate the length of cable that had to be manufactured．
对大多数人来说，海洋是遥远的，除了早期的洲际旅行者或其他以海洋为生的人之外，没有什么理由问很多关于海洋的问题，更不用说问海底是什么了。“海底是什么样？”这个问题第一次被回答，并产生商业后果是在提议铺设从欧洲到美国的电报电缆时。工程师必须知道路线的起伏形状，估计必须制造的电缆长度。
It was to Maury of the US Navy that the Atlantic Telegraph Company turned, in 1853, for information on this matter. In the 1840s, Maury had been responsible for encouraging voyages during which soundings were taken to investigate the depths of the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Later, some of his findings aroused much popular interest in his book The Physical Geography of the Sea．
1853年，大西洋电报公司向美国海军的莫里寻求有关此事的信息。19世纪40年代，莫里负责鼓励航行，在航行期间通过声音测量北大西洋和太平洋的深度。后来，他的一些发现在他的《海洋自然地理》一书中引起了人们的广泛兴趣。
The cable was laid, but not until 1866 was the connection made permanent and reliable. At the early attempts, the cable failed and when it was taken out for repairs it was found to be covered in living growths, a fact which defied contemporary scientific opinion that there was no life in the deeper parts of the sea.
电缆铺设完毕，但直到1866年才永久连接。在早期的尝试中，电缆失败了，当它被取出进行维修时，发现上面长满了活的生物，这一事实违背了当代科学界的观点，即海底深处没有生命。
Within a few years oceanography was under way. In 1872 Thomson led a scientific expedition, which lasted for four years and brought home thousands of samples from the sea. Their classification and analysis occupied scientists for years and led to a five-volume report, the last volume being published in 1895.
没几年，海洋学就开始了。1872年，汤姆森率领一支科学考察队, 持续了四年，从海洋中带回了数千个样本。分类和分析占用了科学家多年的时间，出版了一份五卷本的报告，最后一卷于1895年出版。
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