海洋地质学是研究被海水淹没了的这一部分地球在时间上的发生、发展,在空间上分布变化规律的一门学科。从国际上看,海洋地质学做为一门学科则是从第二次世界大战后,随着军事、航海,特别是石油等海底矿产资源的勘探开发的迫切要求才开始建立起来的。特别是六十年代以来,国际海洋地质科学更有了突飞猛进的发展。不仅在矿产资源的勘探开发上做出了贡献,而且像海底扩张和板块学说等这样一些涉及到整个地球科学的基础理论研究上也有了重大的突破。有人预言:在八十年代,海洋地质学将在至少是中生代以来的全球性的古地理变迁,特别是在古气候演变,也就是在古海洋学的研究方面做出新的理论突破.我国的海洋地质科学是在解放后才从无到有,从小到大的逐渐发展起来的,已取得了显而 Marine geology is a discipline that studies the occurrence, development and distribution of the variation of the part of the earth that has been inundated by the sea water in time. Internationally, marine geology as a discipline began after the Second World War and began to be urgently required for the exploration and exploitation of seabed mineral resources such as military affairs, navigation and, in particular, oil. Especially since the 1960s, the international marine geological science has seen rapid development. Not only contributed to the exploration and development of mineral resources, but also made major breakthroughs in basic theoretical researches involving the entire earth science such as the expansion of the sea floor and the theory of plate. Some people predicted that in the 1980s, marine geology will make a new theoretical breakthrough in global paleogeographic changes since the Mesozoic at least, especially in paleoclimate, that is, in the study of paleoceanography. Marine geosciences have evolved significantly since they were liberated from small ones to large ones