ABSTRACT
THE interest in studying the science of the sea which had reached its peak in the years 1660-1675 gradually fell away in the later years of the seventeenth century. In the eighteenth century the revival began, intermittently at first, then gathering momentum, until by its end there was a recognized network of research. This was the time when the foundations of modern chemistry, geology, biology and meteorology were laid and all these sciences have affiliations with different aspects of oceanography. In addition to the few people who made a special point of studying the sea there were a growing number who became interested in its problems through their work in other branches of science.
