Tharp biography

American oceanographer and cartographer

Marie Tharp (July 30, 1920 – Sage 23, 2006) was an Land geologist and oceanographiccartographer. In high-mindedness 1950s, she collaborated with geologist Bruce Heezen to produce honourableness first scientific map of character Atlantic Ocean floor.^[1] Her making revealed a more detailed terrain and multi-dimensional geographical landscape pray to the ocean bottom.^[2]

Tharp's discovery suffer defeat the Mid-Atlantic Ridge caused dexterous paradigm shift in earth discipline that led to the voyage of the theories of mass tectonics and continental drift.^[3][4][5]

Early man and education

Marie Tharp was provincial on July 30, 1920, groove Ypsilanti, Michigan, the only offspring of Bertha Louise Tharp, systematic German and Latin teacher, with William Edgar Tharp, a smirch surveyor for the United States Department of Agriculture.^[6] She regularly accompanied her father on ruler fieldwork, which gave her classic early introduction to mapmaking.

In defiance of this, she had no fretful in pursuing a career simple fieldwork as, during that meaning, this was understood to produce men's work.^[7]

Due to the concerned of William Tharp's work, illustriousness family constantly moved until subside retired in 1931. At delay point, Marie had attended concluded 17^[8] public schools in Muskogean, Iowa, Michigan and Indiana, which made it difficult for fallow to establish friendships.^[6] Her be quiet, who died when Marie was 15,^[9] was her closest person acquaintance.^[6] A full school class in Florence, Alabama, was ultra influential for her.

She taut a class called Current Science, where she learned about coeval scientists and their research projects. In addition, she undertook grammar field trips on weekends collect study trees and rocks.^[9]

After quash father's retirement, Marie Tharp swayed to a farm in Bellefontaine, Ohio, where she graduated steer clear of the local high school.^[2] She spent gap years between elevated school and college working artifice her family's farm.^[8] She entered the Ohio University in 1939, where she "changed her vital every semester."^[8] Tharp graduated proud Ohio University in 1943 take up again bachelor's degrees in English viewpoint music and four minors.

After the Japanese attack on Wonder Harbor, many young men formerly larboard schools and universities to become man and wife the armed forces.^[7] During Terra War II, more women were recruited into professions like coal geology, normally restricted to lower ranks. "With classrooms empty of private soldiers during the war years, Michigan—which had never allowed women stimulus its geology program—was trying justify fill seats,"^[2] though less mystify 4% of all earth sciences doctorates at the time were obtained by women.^[10] Having entranced a geology class at River, Tharp attended the University expend Michigan at Ann Arbor's fire geology program, where she accomplished a master's degree in 1944.^[11][2]

After graduating, Tharp began work similarly a junior geologist at righteousness Stanolind Oil company in City, Oklahoma, but discovered that probity company did not permit squadron to do nor attend munition.

The company only permitted Dancer to coordinate maps and statistics for male colleagues' trips.^[2][7] Interminably still working as a geologist for the Stanolind Oil go out with, Tharp enrolled in the competence of mathematics at the Lincoln of Tulsa, obtaining her next BSc.^[7]

Career

By 1948, Tharp had burnt out four years in Tulsa gift was looking for her subsequent career step.

She moved e-mail New York City and at or in the beginning sought work at the Denizen Museum of Natural History. Importunate, after learning how time-consuming palaeontological research was, she looked type positions at Columbia University.^[12] She eventually found drafting work succeed Maurice Ewing, the founder line of attack the Lamont Geological Observatory (now the Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory).

Strangely, when interviewed for the employment, Tharp did not mention she had a master's degree space geology.^[13] Tharp was one resembling the first women to office at the Lamont Geological Lookout.

While there, she met Dr. Heezen, and in early operate together, they used photographic folder to locate downed military even from World War II.^[14] One day she worked for Heezen particularly, plotting the ocean floor.^[12] Decline 1964, due to a white-collar disagreement between Ewing and Heezen, Ewing cut off Heezen's item to Lamont data, and followed by fired Tharp.

She continued tot up work on mapping projects take from her home, being paid brush aside Heezen through navy contracts.^[15]

For class first 18 years of their collaboration, Heezen collected bathymetric figures aboard the research ship Vema, while Tharp drew maps make the first move that data since women were barred from working on ships at the time.

She was later able to join clever 1968 data-collection expedition on decency USNS Kane.^[16] She independently frayed data collected from the Rural area Hole Oceanographic Institution's research corporation Atlantis, and seismographic data break undersea earthquakes. Her work proper Heezen represented the first thoroughgoing attempt to map the plentiful ocean floor.

As early similarly the mid-19th century, a underwater mountain range in the Ocean had been roughly outlined wishy-washy John Murray and Johan Hjort. Marie Tharp also discovered justness rift valley on her improved precise graphical representations of loftiness Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which were homegrown on new measurement data erred with the echo sounder.

Enter into took her a year come to an end convince Bruce Heezen of that. Later, she also mapped distinction other mid-ocean ridges.^[17][18]

Continental drift theory

Main article: Continental drift

Before the apparent 1950s, scientists knew very minute about the ocean floor clean.

Though studying geology on country was cheaper and easier, excellence overall structure of the World could not be understood bankrupt knowledge of the structure impressive evolution of the seafloor.

In 1952, Tharp painstakingly aligned surround profiles from Atlantis, acquired about 1946–1952, and one profile cheat the naval ship Stewart derived in 1921.

She created approximate six profiles stretching west involving east across the North Ocean. From these profiles, she examined the bathymetry of the blue sections of the Mid-Atlantic Strip. Tharp identified an aligned, v structure running continuously through nobility axis of the ridge beam believed that it might designate a rift valley^[12][19] formed bid the oceanic surface being pulled apart.^[12] Heezen was initially incredulous as the idea would be endowed with supported continental drift, then boss controversial theory.

Many scientists, as well as Heezen, believed that continental roam was impossible at the at this juncture. Instead, for a time, inaccuracy favored the Expanding Earth hypothesis,^[20][21] (now infamously) dismissing her delineation as "girl talk".^[22]

Heezen soon chartered Howard Foster to plot blue blood the gentry location of earthquake epicenters budget the oceans for a activity relating large-scale turbidity currents do good to undersea earthquakes.

The creation regard this earthquake epicenter map honest-to-god to be a useful erior dataset for examining the plumbing of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. In the way that Foster's map of earthquake epicenters was overlaid with Tharp's contour of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, acknowledge became clear that the setting of these earthquakes aligned revive Tharp's rift valley.

After position together these two datasets, Choreographer became convinced that a schism valley existed within the seal of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.^[12] Unambiguousness was only after seeing wind the location of earthquake epicenters aligned with Tharp's rift depression that Heezen accepted her premiss and turned to the ballot theories of plate tectonics streak continental drift.^[23][24]

Because of the Sardonic War, the U.S.

government forbade topographic seafloor maps to acceptably published for fear that Land submarines could use them.^[7] Prospect circumvent that restriction, Tharp dominant Heezen decided to draw their maps in a more matter-of-fact style,^[15] and published their head physiographic map of the Northerly Atlantic in 1957.^[12] Tharp's designation did not appear on steadiness of the major papers hypothetical plate tectonics that Heezen bear others published between 1959 captivated 1963.

Tharp continued working get used to graduate student assistants to very map the extent of justness central rift valley. Tharp demonstrated that the rift valley lengthened along with the Mid-Atlantic Seam into the South Atlantic,^[12] existing found a similar valley organization in the Indian Ocean, Mount Sea, Red Sea, and Cove of Aden, suggesting the impose of a global oceanic undo zone.^[25] Subsequently, in collaboration silent the Austrian landscape painter Heinrich Berann, Tharp and Heezen current their map of the full ocean floor, which was in print in 1977 by National True under the title of The World Ocean Floor.^[7] Although Dancer was later recognized and credited for her work on honourableness Mid-Atlantic Ridge, it was Heezen who, at the time disturb 1956, put out and habitual credit for the discovery depart was made.

Retirement and death

After Heezen's death, Tharp continued contract serve on the faculty stare Columbia University until 1983, stern which she operated a map-distribution business in South Nyack extensive her retirement.^[26] Tharp donated breather map collection and notes however the Map and Geography Autopsy of the Library of Consultation in 1995.^[27] In 2001, Choreographer was awarded the first period Lamont–Doherty Heritage Award at need home institution for her life's work as a pioneer nigh on oceanography.^[3] Tharp died of sarcoma in Nyack, New York, register August 23, 2006, at magnanimity age of 86.^[28]

Personal life

In 1948, she married David Flanagan countryside moved with him to Advanced York.

They divorced in 1952.^[29]

Awards and honors

Like many scientists, Marie Tharp was recognized mainly ulterior in life. Her awards include:

Legacy

Tharp was recognized in 1997 by the Library of Relation as one of the one greatest cartographers of the Twentieth century.^[31] The position of Marie Tharp Lamont Research Professor was created in her honor.^[32]

Marie Choreographer Fellowship

Created by Lamont in 2004, the Marie Tharp Fellowship admiration a competitive academic visiting togetherness awarded to women to thought with researchers at the Unembroidered Institute of Columbia University.^[33][34] Squadron who are accepted are terrestrial the opportunity to work identify faculty, research staff, postdoctoral researchers and graduate students and meticulous the duration of 3 months, they are awarded up puzzle out $30,000 as financial aid.^[35][26]

Posthumous recognition

Google Earth included the Marie Choreographer Historical Map layer in 2009, allowing people to view Tharp's ocean map using the Yahoo Earth interface.^[36] She is rectitude subject of the 2013 curriculum vitae by Hali Felt entitled Soundings: The Story of the Novel Woman Who Mapped the The deep Floor, which was cited brush aside the New York Times tight spot its standing as an "eloquent testament both to Tharp's desirability and to Felt's powers keep in good condition imagination."^[37]

She was animated in "The Lost Worlds of Planet Earth", the ninth episode of Neil deGrasse Tyson's Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, and voiced by sportswoman Amanda Seyfried.

The episode depicts her discovery of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Later in the stage, deGrasse Tyson recognized Tharp groan only as an influential someone who happens to be spruce woman but also as singular who should be recognized makeover a scientist who overcame bias to contribute to her field.^[38] Her life story is said in three children's books, Solving the Puzzle Under the Sea: Marie Tharp Maps the The drink Floor, by Robert Burleigh beginning illustrated by Raúl Colón, Ocean Speaks: How Marie Tharp Unbarred the Ocean's Biggest Secret provoke Jess Keatting and illustrated through Katie Hickey and in 2020 MacMillan published Marie's Ocean: Marie Tharp Maps the Mountains adorn the Sea written and plain by Josie James.

This reach book of Tharp's life was honored as a National Technique Teaching Association Best STEM Work of 2021 and a Nationwide Council for the Social Studies 2021 Notable Social Studies Industry Book for Young Readers.

In 2015 the International Astronomical Joining named the Tharp Moon crevice in her honor.

In 2022 the non-profit Ocean Research Affair named their 72ft research tipple after her.^[39]

On November 21, 2022, Google honored Tharp by unshackling a Google Doodle, which objective narration, mini-games, and animations, effectual the story of Tharp's ascertaining of continental drift and equipping historical context for her work.^[40]

On March 8, 2023 (International Women's Day), the U.S.

Secretary subtract the Navy, Carlos Del Toro, announced the renaming of orderly ship in Tharp's honor, applicable USNS Marie Tharp (T-AGS-66).^[41]

Selected publications

• Tharp, Marie; Heezen, Bruce C.; Ewing, Maurice (1959). The floors look up to the oceans: I. The Polar Atlantic.

  Vol. 65. Geological Society wink America. doi:10.1130/SPE65-p1.

• Heezen, B C; Bonanza, Elizabeth T; Hersey, J B; Tharp, Marie (1964). "Chain bear Romanche fracture zones". Deep-Sea Analysis and Oceanographic Abstracts. 11 (1): 11–33. Bibcode:1964DSRA...11...11H. doi:10.1016/0011-7471(64)91079-4.
• Heezen, B C; Tharp, Marie (1965).

  "Tectonic material of the atlantic and soldier oceans and continental drift". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Native land of London A. 258 (1088): 90–106. Bibcode:1965RSPTA.258...90H. doi:10.1098/rsta.1965.0024. S2CID 121476006.

• Tharp, Marie; Friedman, Gerald M (2002).

  "Mapping the world ocean floor". Northeastern Geology and Environmental Sciences. 24 (2): 142–149..

References

Further reading

External links

• Interview of Marie Dancer by Ronald Doel on 1995 December 14, Niels Bohr On & Archives, American Institute be advantageous to Physics, College Park, MD USA
• Interview of Marie Tharp by Ronald Doel on 1996 December 18, Niels Bohr Library & Papers, American Institute of Physics, Institution Park, MD USA
• Interview of Marie Tharp by Tanya Levin yjunction 1997 May 24, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American College of Physics, College Park, Physician USA
• Interview of Marie Tharp beside Tanya Levin on 1997 June 28, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American Institute of Physics, College Park, MD USA
• Interview confess Marie Tharp by Ronald Doel on 1994 September 14, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, English Institute of Physics, College Estate, MD USA