Maury's wind and current charts
Cartas de vientos y corrientes de Maury
- Date
- 1847 · confidence high
- Place
- US Naval Observatory, Washington, D.C., United States
- Credited to
- Matthew Fontaine Maury
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
Maury compiled thousands of ships' logs into seasonal wind and current charts, recommending routes that cut weeks off voyages. It was the foundation of physical oceanography and of maritime meteorological conferences.
Maury sided with the Confederacy in 1861 and his legacy is politically contested; his charts stayed in use.
What it led to
- the Brussels meteorological conference (1853)
- Physical Geography of the Sea (1855)
- oceanography and national weather services