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The oceanographic contribution of James Croll

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 June 2021

Alastair DAWSON Open the ORCID record for Alastair DAWSON [Opens in a new window]
Alastair DAWSON*
Affiliation:
School of Social Sciences: Geography, University of Dundee, The Nethergate, DundeeDD1 4HN, UK
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

The research of James Croll on the nature of Ice Ages led him into a detailed investigation of ocean currents. By the early 1870s he had calculated from first principles the quantities of heat delivered by ocean currents to high latitude areas and he understood how this heat supply may have altered drastically during ice ages. The publication of his many papers on ocean currents as well as his book, Climate and Time, coincided with Challenger expedition that, in 1872, embarked on a 4-year voyage of scientific exploration of the world's oceans. The expedition was crucially important for Croll since it enabled him to test his theories of ocean circulation using real data. His novel theories of ocean circulation based on this information conflicted with the established views popularly advocated by William Carpenter but they ultimately prevailed. In the many writings of Croll on ocean currents, we encounter, as with other areas of his research, numerous remarkable ideas many decades ahead their time.

Keywords

CarpenterChallenger expeditiongravitationocean currentsocean temperaturesalinity
Type
Articles
Information
Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of The Royal Society of Edinburgh , Volume 112 , Special Issue 3-4: James Croll – from Janitor to Genius , September 2021 , pp. 253 - 260
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Royal Society of Edinburgh

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References

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