The dramatic dynamics to the today’s ideas and cultural practices can be traced back from the explorations and discoveries which took place five centuries ago. The exploration of the new world is driven by curiosity and demand for goods and resources as famine, war and diseases have become inseparable with mankind.
The Darwin’s discovery on origin of species in 1859 opened up anthropology, geology and paleontology. During World War 1, the Germans invented U-boat for breathing in deep submersion and propulsion. They were later standardized into naval warfare ships and diving gears with modern technology e.g. remote sensing equipment like sonar used for mapping floor of the ocean, locating ridges and reefs for safe sailing during world war II .By 1970 the scientists and engineers borrowed their principal of design to invent small submersible (Alvin) for free range of explorations in scientific research. The holistic overview of ocean chemistry and mineral circulation for sustainability of marine life was achieved during the exploration of mid-Atlantic ridge discovering hydrothermal vents between 1973 and 1974.Deep sea exploration have been archeologically used in locating sunken shipwrecks and other submerged sites e.g. the discovery of RMS titanic in 1985 by Dr Robert approximately 73 years after sinking.
Deeper research in geology has opened up new deposits of resources leading to discovery of fuels like petroleum and uranium. The transfer of information was made easier through introduction of telephone, telegraph, fax and emails bridging geographical gap and reducing the world into global village. The discovery of railroads, shorter sea routes and automobiles fastened communication e.g. Christopher Columbus took four months to voyage around unlike currently where the same distance voyage takes roughly four days to sail through. The introduction of aero plane made the transatlantic passenger ships to be artifacts of the past with plane giving man a good aerial view of earth surface for cartography. Everyday affair long distance traveling has nurtured diverse ethno-racial meetings promoting global culture e.g. ethnographers coming up with a single meal for diverse cultures with all ingredients readily identifiable.
Sophisticated technologies have made it easier for explorers to turn to space explorations launching rockets, jet engines and robots aided satellites. National Aeronautics and Space Administration has been formed as an agency for space science explorations, with manned programs such as medicine in space, ozone depletion monitoring, project Gemini, and project mercury and x-15 rocket plane among others.
The desire for human beings to improve their lives led to various explorations and discoveries encouraging industrial revolution .The latest discoveries have come up with advanced technologies globalizing scientific, economic, cultural and religious activities of man into one worldwide network.
References
Kammer, T. Principles of Historical Geology, retrieved from www.geo.wvu.edu/~kammer/g231/principles.pdf
Learners Online.com (2002) Deep Sea Exploration retrieved from http://www.learnersonline.com/weekly/archive99/week25/index.htm
Virtual Library. The Discovery of the New World and the End of the Old retrieved from http://www.vlib.us/medieval/lectures/discovery.html
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2012) Space exploration retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_exploration
