Compared to land, the ocean is a much more difficult environment to work on and in. It is opaque to most of the electromagnetic spectrum. It is constantly moving due to the effects of wind, waves, currents, and tides. It is corrosive. It is much denser then the atmosphere and its weight can produce great pressures at depth. For these and other reasons, many specialized tools and techniques have been developed to help people work on and under the water that we collectively call marine technology. This work ranges from archeological investigations to construction projects to military operations and to offshore oil & gas extraction. It includes scientists, and their support staff, who study the biology, chemistry, geology, and physics of the oceans. While the word marine implies something related to the ocean, these tools and techniques also apply to fresh bodies of water.
Below is a list of marine technologies. Clicking on any one of these will take you to a short description of the topic. Keep in mind that entire books can be written on anyone of these subjects. Where more expansive information is available on-line, a link is provided to take you to the fuller explanation. More general references can be found here.
If you have any feedback you can email me at brock@o-vations.com.
Acoustic Current Meters
Acoustic Doppler Current Meters
Aids to Navigation
Arc Lights
AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles)
Batteries
Bottom Samplers
Bulkhead Connectors
Buoys
Cables
Cable Glands
Cameras
Chemical Sensors
Compasses
Conductivity
Conductors
Connectors
Corrosion
CTDs (Conductivity Temperature Depth)
Current Meters
Data Collection Platforms
Data Loggers
Data Multiplexing
Data Telemetry
Drifting Buoys
Dynamic Positioning
Echo Sounders
Electromechanical Current Meters
Fiber Optic Connectors
Fiber Optic Gyrocompasses
Floats
Flotation
Fluorometers
Flux Gate Compass
Geophysical Instruments
GPS (Global Positioning System)
High-Frequency Radar
Hydrophones
Incandescent Lights
Inertial Navigation Systems
Insulation
Launch and Recovery Systems
LEDs
Lighting
Linear Cable Engines
Magnetic Compas
Magnetometers
Marker Buoys
Meterological Sensors
Met Sensors
Moored Buoys
Motion Sensors
Optical Sensors
Overhauser Magnetometers
Pan & Tilts
Physical Oceanographic Sensors
Pressure-Balanced Oil-Filled Connectors
Pressure Housings
Proton Magnetometers
Releases
Remote Sensing
Resistance Temperature Detectors
Ring Laser Gyros
Ropes and Tension Members
ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles)
Scour
Seals
Seawater Batteries
Sediment Traps
Self-deployed buoys
Ship Moorings
Slip Rings
Sonar
Spectrofluorometers
Spectrophotomers
Spinning Mass Gyrocompass
Strength member
Submersibles
Subsurface buoys
Subsurface Drifting Buoys
Surface Supplied Air Diving
Tether Management Systems
Thermistors
Tide Gauges
Traction Winches
Transmissometers
Towed Vehicles
Underwater Acoustic Imaging
Underwater Position & Tracking