The Woman Who Mapped The Ocean Floor

Her work also revealed the presence of a continuous rift valley along the axis.

The woman who mapped the ocean floor.

Before marie tharp geologist and gifted draftsperson the whole world including most of the scientific community thought the ocean floor was. Soundings is the story of the enigmatic unknown woman behind one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century. Library of congress l ast tuesday was international women s day a time to remember and celebrate. The ocean floor maps that marie tharp and bruce heezen produced will stand the test of time they are on a par with americo vespucci s 15th century map of the new world.

08 28 2012 02 10 pm et updated oct 28 2012 on february 2 2009 thanks to google ocean the ocean floor s topography was revealed for millions of people to see. Similar to famous painters some of whom only gain appreciation after their death marie tharp is one of the most underappreciated scientists in the history of the. Women in tectonics and structural geology by lucia perez diaz marie tharp july 30 1920 august 23 2006 would have turned 100 on this very day and she continues to live through her legacy of having mapped the world s oceans. The ocean floor maps and their iconic mid ocean rift valley provided the visual spark essential for understanding the parallel denouement of seismic and magnetic signals.

Her maps of the ocean floor have been called one of the most remarkable achievements in modern cartography yet no one knows her name. The story of the remarkable woman who mapped the ocean floor. The story of the remarkable woman who mapped the ocean floor documents tharp s thwarted dreams and. How one brilliant woman mapped the secrets of the ocean floor this animation by rosanna wan for the royal institution tells the fascinating story of marie tharp s groundbreaking work to help.

The bruce heezen marie tharp world ocean floor map painted by heinrich berann. Having a master s degree in geology was rare for a woman in the 1950s but that didn t stop marie tharp from changing the field forever. Nor did scientists have ways to map the ocean floor which they assumed was drab and flat.