Back علم المحيطات الجيولوجية Arabic Dəniz geologiyası Azerbaijani Морска геология Bulgarian Morska geologija BS Geologia marina Catalan Hāi-iòng Dê-cék-hŏk CDO Mořská geologie Czech Maringeologi Danish Meeresgeologie German Γεωλογική ωκεανογραφία Greek
Marine geology or geological oceanography is the study of the history and structure of the ocean floor. It involves geophysical, geochemical, sedimentological and paleontological investigations of the ocean floor and coastal zone. Marine geology has strong ties to geophysics and to physical oceanography.
Marine geological studies were of extreme importance in providing the critical evidence for sea floor spreading and plate tectonics in the years following World War II. The deep ocean floor is the last essentially unexplored frontier and detailed mapping in support of economic (petroleum and metal mining), natural disaster mitigation, and academic objectives.