Tharp’s partner Bruce Heezen collected the sonar data at sea (Columbia U barred women on research vessels). Tharp noted the Mid-Atlantic rift valley. Heezen initially dismissed it as “girl talk,” but later her data was accepted; it proved seafloor spreading & gave birth to modern plate tectonics.
Admirable Women
Marie Tharp mapped the floor of the N. Atlantic in 1957 & the entire global ocean floor by 1977.
A geologist & oceanographic cartographer whose work revealed the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, proving continental drift & fundamentally changing modern earth science.
#WorldOceansDay #WomenInSTEM #cartography
