On this day in history...

...in 1953, the first issue of Deep-Sea Research was published, marking the formal launch of a scientific journal entirely devoted to the study of the deep ocean. Although the exact day of release is unknown, this date is used here symbolically to celebrate its founding moment.

The journal was born out of the post-war momentum for international scientific collaboration. Following the Swedish Deep-Sea Expedition and growing interest in deep ocean investigations, the Joint Commission on Oceanography of the International Council of Scientific Unions resolved in 1952 to establish a journal dedicated to the morphology, stratigraphy, sedimentology, hydrography, and biology of the deep-sea floor.

Published by Pergamon Press and edited by Mary Sears, Cameron D. Ovey, and L. Fage, the first volume reflected the global ambition of the journal. Its editorial board included prominent figures such as Harald Sverdrup, Maurice Ewing, Anton Bruun, and Harold C. Urey. The initiative aimed to go beyond isolated studies by providing a consistent, peer-reviewed platform to disseminate research about the ocean’s least accessible regions.

Over the decades, Deep-Sea Research underwent several transformations. In 1962, it became Deep-Sea Research and Oceanographic Abstracts. In 1977, it returned to its original title before splitting in 1978 into two parts:

• Part A: Oceanographic Research Papers
• Part B: Oceanographic Literature Review

In 1993, Part A split again into:

• Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers
• Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography,

while Part B was discontinued.

Through all these changes, the journal has remained a leading venue for deep-ocean science, bridging physical oceanography, geology, biology, and chemistry in some of the most challenging environments on Earth.

Sources

• Ovey, C.D. (1953). Foreword. Deep-Sea Research, Vol. 1, pp. 1–2, https://doi.org/10.1016/0146-6313(53)90002-1
• Editorial Board. Deep-Sea Research, Vol. 1, No. 1, October 1953, https://doi.org/10.1016/0146-6313(53)90001-X
• Wikipedia contributors. Deep Sea Research. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep_Sea_Research