# Oceanography

By [ssold](https://paragraph.com/@ssold) · 2023-05-08

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**Oceanography** (from [Ancient Greek](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_language) [ὠκεανός](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E1%BD%A0%CE%BA%CE%B5%CE%B1%CE%BD%CF%8C%CF%82#Ancient_Greek) _(ōkeanós)_ '[ocean](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean)', and [γραφή](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%CE%B3%CF%81%CE%B1%CF%86%CE%AE#Ancient_Greek) _(graphḗ)_ '[writing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing)'), also known as **oceanology** and **ocean science**, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an [Earth science](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth_science), which covers a wide range of topics, including [ecosystem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecosystem) dynamics; [ocean currents](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_current), [waves](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_wave), and [geophysical fluid dynamics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geophysical_fluid_dynamics); [plate tectonics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_tectonics) and the geology of the sea floor; and [fluxes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flux) of various chemical substances and physical properties within the ocean and across its boundaries. These diverse topics reflect multiple disciplines that oceanographers utilize to glean further knowledge of the [world ocean](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_ocean), including [astronomy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomy), [biology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biology), [chemistry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemistry), [climatology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climatology), [geography](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography), [geology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology), [hydrology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrology), [meteorology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteorology) and [physics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics). [Paleoceanography](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleoceanography) studies the history of the oceans in the geologic past. An **oceanographer** is a person who studies many matters concerned with oceans, including marine [geology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geology), [physics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physics), [chemistry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemistry) and [biology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biology).

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*Originally published on [ssold](https://paragraph.com/@ssold/oceanography-2)*