Matthew Fontaine Maury is considered the father of modern oceanography. He joined the US Navy in 1820 and navigated around the world from 1832 to 1836. In 1855, he published what is considered to be the first textbook on modern oceanography, The Physical Geography of the Sea and Its Meteorology. While certainly not the first to identify the oceanic currents, his work became the definitive work on the subject.
Matthew Maury's Search for the Secrets of the Seas
On his tombstone a Scripture text was written which he said was the inspiration for his work. He believed the Bible had accurately identified the existence of the oceanic currents thousands of years before science had verified their existence. The Scripture text was:
"What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen-- even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth!" Psalm 8:4-9