What cultural concerns drove marine science in the Age of Exploration?

Europeans had questions, they wanted to research and they wanted to understand the ocean. Europeans took to the sea and dominated navigation and eventually marine science. James Cook explore on behalf of Britain, he was able to explore new territories ranging from the arctic region to the Hawaiian Islands and Alaska. Each time, he returned with new documentation of ocean environments. Europe started building upon the knowledge of the currents and tides, the knowledge we still depend upon to understand the ocean