oceanography
noun
ocean·og·ra·phy ˌō-shə-ˈnä-grə-fē 
: a science that deals with the oceans and includes the delimitation of their extent and depth, the physics and chemistry of their waters, marine biology, and the exploitation of their resources
oceanographer
ˌō-shə-ˈnä-grə-fər
noun oceanographic
ˌō-shə-nə-ˈgra-fik
adjective or less commonly oceanographical
ˌō-shə-nə-ˈgra-fi-kəl
oceanographically
ˌō-shə-nə-ˈgra-fi-k(ə-)lē
adverb 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The family moved to the Bird Rock section of La Jolla in 1967, shortly after Barnett finished earning a doctorate in oceanography at Scripps. 
Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Aug. 2022 July saw no decrease of algae in the Caribbean Sea, said Chuanmin Hu, an optical oceanography professor who helps produce the reports. DÁnica Coto, Sun Sentinel, 3 Aug. 2022 Chuanmin Hu, an oceanography professor at the University of South Florida who helps produce the seaweed reports, said sargassum levels for the eastern Caribbean were at a near-record high this year, second only to those reported in July 2018. Dánica Coto, Anchorage Daily News, 3 Aug. 2022 Sears had been selected to oversee the oceanography chapters of the reports. Catherine Musemeche, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 July 2022 Chuanmin Hu, an oceanography professor at the University of South Florida who helps produce the seaweed reports, said sargassum levels for the eastern Caribbean were at a near-record high this year, second only to those reported in July 2018. Fox News, 4 Aug. 2022 July saw no decrease of algae in the Caribbean Sea, said Chuanmin Hu, an optical oceanography professor who helps produce the reports. Dánica Coto, USA TODAY, 4 Aug. 2022 The minimum temperature threshold for maintaining a hurricane is 26 degrees Celsius (about 79 degrees Fahrenheit), said Nan Walker, a professor of oceanography and coastal sciences at Louisiana State University. Daniella Silva, NBC News, 22 June 2022 Sears continued her own research but also took on the role of organizer for the emerging field of modern oceanography. Catherine Musemeche, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 July 2022 See More
Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Aug. 2022 July saw no decrease of algae in the Caribbean Sea, said Chuanmin Hu, an optical oceanography professor who helps produce the reports. DÁnica Coto, Sun Sentinel, 3 Aug. 2022 Chuanmin Hu, an oceanography professor at the University of South Florida who helps produce the seaweed reports, said sargassum levels for the eastern Caribbean were at a near-record high this year, second only to those reported in July 2018. Dánica Coto, Anchorage Daily News, 3 Aug. 2022 Sears had been selected to oversee the oceanography chapters of the reports. Catherine Musemeche, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 July 2022 Chuanmin Hu, an oceanography professor at the University of South Florida who helps produce the seaweed reports, said sargassum levels for the eastern Caribbean were at a near-record high this year, second only to those reported in July 2018. Fox News, 4 Aug. 2022 July saw no decrease of algae in the Caribbean Sea, said Chuanmin Hu, an optical oceanography professor who helps produce the reports. Dánica Coto, USA TODAY, 4 Aug. 2022 The minimum temperature threshold for maintaining a hurricane is 26 degrees Celsius (about 79 degrees Fahrenheit), said Nan Walker, a professor of oceanography and coastal sciences at Louisiana State University. Daniella Silva, NBC News, 22 June 2022 Sears continued her own research but also took on the role of organizer for the emerging field of modern oceanography. Catherine Musemeche, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 July 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
borrowed from German Ozeanographie, Oceanographie from Ozean, Ocean ocean + -o- -o- + -graphie -graphy (after Geographie geography, Aërographie "meteorology")
Note: The German word was apparently introduced by the German seaman and academic Eduard Bobrik (1802-70) in Handbuch der praktischen Seefahrtskunde, Band 1 (Zürich/Hamburg, 1846), p. 79 ff.
First Known Use
1859, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
oceanography
noun
ocean·og·ra·phy ˌō-shə-ˈnä-grə-fē
: a science that deals with the ocean