2026-07-30 12:02 UTC
Happy birthday to #geologist & oceanographic #cartographer Marie Tharp (1920-2006), whose pioneering, thorough & complete ocean floor maps with Bruce Heezen, made using realms of echo sounder data, revealed the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
After studying #geology & math, Maurice ‘Doc’ Ewing at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia hired her to draft 1000s of echo sounder profiles. 🧵1/5
https://minouette.etsy.com/listing/217247292
#sciart #printmaking #womenInSTEM #histsci #linocut
Replies (1)
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@minouette@spore.social 2026-07-30 12:04
Women were still not allowed to participate in research cruises. Before long, Heezen came to LDEO & required so much drafting work that Tharp worked exclusively with him. She spent months plotting profiles of N Atlantic. The ship tracks were sparse but when Tharp compared several ~ parallel transects she noticed a V-shaped notch in the centre of all profiles. She suspected they coincided because they indicated a rift valley along the ridge crest.🧵2/5