observed along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (see Chap. 8). Wilson inspired many
scientists to continue developing the theory of continental plate motions in relation
to the hotspot volcanic areas located within oceanic basins.
Maurice Ewing was the first director of the Lamont-Doherty Geological
Observatory (LDO). He was a tall man with white hair, dark-eyebrows, and round
glasses, who looked more like a farmer than an intellectual, even if his nickname
was ‘‘Doc’’. He was a geophysicist and he developed the seismic method of
exploration at sea, which become the principal tool used by oceanographers to
explore the deep structures under the oceans. Joe Lamar Worzel was also a
geophysicist who worked closely with Doc Ewing. Joe was a short, good looking,
fast-talking man, a hard worker at sea, and he was always on the run, as if he were
trying to catch up with lost time.
Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory (LDO) of Columbia University
(founded in 1949) was one of the leading Oceanographic institutions in the 1960s.
Even if the techniques were not as advanced as they are now, nevertheless the
Lamont ships, R.V. Vema in the early 1950s (1953) and the R.V. Robert D. Conrad
in the 1960s, were notorious for their reputation of spending most of their time at
sea. However, it was in the 1940s on the Woods Hole sailing ship Atlantis that
‘‘Doc’’ Ewing first studied the structure of the sea floor when he explored and
mapped the Mid-Atlantic Ridge with its high mountain range.
Bruce Heezen and Marie Tharp, could be found either at sea or in the
Oceanography Building of the Lamont-Doherty Observatory (LDO) between 1958
to the early 1960s. They were the first ones to draft an ocean floor structural map
showing the major features of the World’s sea floor as it might look if all the water
were drained out. The compilation of data was made from single-channel depth
echosounding. In 1959, they and Maurice Ewing published ‘‘The Floor of the
Ocean’’ which accompanied a series of physiographic maps of the ocean floor.
Earthquakes and other instabilities on sedimented slopes trigger turbidity currents on the sea floor. Bruce Heezen pioneered the study of turbidity currents and
other research concerning the origin of submarine canyons in the deep sea. He also
determined that a 1925 earthquake on the East Coast of the USA was the cause of
the breaks along trans-Atlantic submarine telephone cables. In addition, he was
interested in bottom photography so Heezen and Charlie Hollister were among the
first scientists to publish a comprehensive atlas illustrating the sea floor landscape,
in 1971.
Bruce Heezen believed in on-site submarine exploration and he was one of the
first people to use manned submersibles for scientific purposes. His work in
1974–1975 consisted in making scientific observations on the submarine flanks of
the Hawaiian Island in the underwater continuation of the active Kilauea volcano.
He demonstrated the existence of magma injection through fissural eruption
extending in a submarine environment. Using the Deep Sea Vessel (DSV) Turtle,
Heezen also pioneered the observation of the subduction zone of the Middle
America Trench underneath the coastal range off Mexico. Bruce died during one
of his diving expeditions in 1977, inside the NR-1 (a nuclear powered U.S. Navy
4
1 An Overview of Oceanographic Exploration
scientists to continue developing the theory of continental plate motions in relation
to the hotspot volcanic areas located within oceanic basins.
Maurice Ewing was the first director of the Lamont-Doherty Geological
Observatory (LDO). He was a tall man with white hair, dark-eyebrows, and round
glasses, who looked more like a farmer than an intellectual, even if his nickname
was ‘‘Doc’’. He was a geophysicist and he developed the seismic method of
exploration at sea, which become the principal tool used by oceanographers to
explore the deep structures under the oceans. Joe Lamar Worzel was also a
geophysicist who worked closely with Doc Ewing. Joe was a short, good looking,
fast-talking man, a hard worker at sea, and he was always on the run, as if he were
trying to catch up with lost time.
Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory (LDO) of Columbia University
(founded in 1949) was one of the leading Oceanographic institutions in the 1960s.
Even if the techniques were not as advanced as they are now, nevertheless the
Lamont ships, R.V. Vema in the early 1950s (1953) and the R.V. Robert D. Conrad
in the 1960s, were notorious for their reputation of spending most of their time at
sea. However, it was in the 1940s on the Woods Hole sailing ship Atlantis that
‘‘Doc’’ Ewing first studied the structure of the sea floor when he explored and
mapped the Mid-Atlantic Ridge with its high mountain range.
Bruce Heezen and Marie Tharp, could be found either at sea or in the
Oceanography Building of the Lamont-Doherty Observatory (LDO) between 1958
to the early 1960s. They were the first ones to draft an ocean floor structural map
showing the major features of the World’s sea floor as it might look if all the water
were drained out. The compilation of data was made from single-channel depth
echosounding. In 1959, they and Maurice Ewing published ‘‘The Floor of the
Ocean’’ which accompanied a series of physiographic maps of the ocean floor.
Earthquakes and other instabilities on sedimented slopes trigger turbidity currents on the sea floor. Bruce Heezen pioneered the study of turbidity currents and
other research concerning the origin of submarine canyons in the deep sea. He also
determined that a 1925 earthquake on the East Coast of the USA was the cause of
the breaks along trans-Atlantic submarine telephone cables. In addition, he was
interested in bottom photography so Heezen and Charlie Hollister were among the
first scientists to publish a comprehensive atlas illustrating the sea floor landscape,
in 1971.
Bruce Heezen believed in on-site submarine exploration and he was one of the
first people to use manned submersibles for scientific purposes. His work in
1974–1975 consisted in making scientific observations on the submarine flanks of
the Hawaiian Island in the underwater continuation of the active Kilauea volcano.
He demonstrated the existence of magma injection through fissural eruption
extending in a submarine environment. Using the Deep Sea Vessel (DSV) Turtle,
Heezen also pioneered the observation of the subduction zone of the Middle
America Trench underneath the coastal range off Mexico. Bruce died during one
of his diving expeditions in 1977, inside the NR-1 (a nuclear powered U.S. Navy
4
1 An Overview of Oceanographic Exploration