author
Marie Tharp
1920–2006
A quiet pioneer of ocean science, she helped turn scraps of sonar data into vivid maps of the seafloor. Her work revealed the deep rift running along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and helped scientists accept plate tectonics.
1 Audiobook
The Floors of the Ocean: 1. The North Atlantic Text to accompany the physiographic diagram of the North Atlantic
by Bruce C. Heezen, W. Maurice (William Maurice) Ewing, Marie Tharp
About the author
Born in Michigan in 1920, Marie Tharp became an American geologist and oceanographic cartographer at a time when women were often shut out of field science. After studying geology and mathematics, she joined the research community that would become Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, where she began transforming depth soundings from research ships into detailed maps.
Working closely with geologist Bruce Heezen, she produced groundbreaking maps of the Atlantic Ocean floor and later the world's oceans. By carefully plotting the data, she identified a long rift valley along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, an observation that became important evidence for seafloor spreading and the growing acceptance of plate tectonics.
For years, her contributions were underestimated, but her maps changed how people understood the planet beneath the oceans. She is now widely recognized as one of the most influential cartographers of the twentieth century and a trailblazer for women in earth science.