Oceanography/Marine-Related Careers

Oceanography is a relatively young discipline, shaped by a continual flow of exciting discoveries. Although the oceans represent more than 70 percent of Earth's surface, as few as fifty years ago 98 percent of the floor remained unexplored.

In the last four decades, oceanographers gave us our first glimpse of the Earth's deepest ocean trenches as well as breathtaking views of our water planet from outer space. They confirmed the theory of plate tectonics and continental drift. They discovered exotic life forms around hydrothermal vents—creatures that depend on the special water chemistry surrounding the vents instead of light, to survive. And today, oceanographers continue to help us understand the precarious balance of the oceans, atmosphere, ice, solid earth, and living organisms—the Earth system that affects our everyday lives and the future of our planet.