Celebrating Marie Tharp

Google Dooles 20.11.2022 23:15  Date: November 21, 2022 Today’s Doodle celebrates the life of Marie Tharp, an American geologist and oceanographic cartographer who helped prove the theories of continental drift. She co-published the first world map of the ocean floors. On this day in 1998, the Library of Congress named Tharp one of the greatest cartographers of the 20th century. Today’s Doodle features an interactive exploration of Tharp’s life. Her story is narrated by , , and , three notable women who are currently living out Tharp’s legacy by making strides in the traditionally male-dominated ocean science and geology spaces. Marie Tharp was an only child born on July 30, 1920, in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Tharp’s father, who worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, gave her an early introduction to mapmaking. She attended the University of Michigan for her master’s degree in petroleum geology—this was particularly impressive given so few women worked in science during this period. She moved to New York City in 1948 and became the first woman to work at the Lamont Geological Observatory where she met geologist Bruce Heezen. Heezen gathered ocean-depth data in the Atlantic Ocean, which Tharp used to create maps of the mysterious ocean floor. New findings from echo sounders helped her discover the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. She brought these findings to Heezen, who infamously dismissed this as “girl talk”. However, when they compared these V-shaped rifts with earthquake epicenter maps, Heezen could not ignore the facts. Plate tectonics and continental drift were no longer just theories—the seafloor was undoubtedly spreading. In 1957, Tharp and Heezen co-published the first map of the ocean floor in the North Atlantic. Twenty years later, National Geographic published the first world map of the entire ocean floor penned by Tharp and Heezen, titled “The World Ocean Floor.” Tharp donated her entire map collection to the Library of Congress in 1995. On the 100th anniversary celebration of its Geography and Map Division, the Library of Congress named her one of the most important cartographers in the 20th century. In 2001, the same observatory where she started her career awarded her with its first annual Lamont-Doherty Heritage Award. Click on today’s Doodle to begin your journey through Tharp’s extraordinary life and scientific contributions! Photographed: Marie Tharp and Heezen Courtesy of the Tharp estate Photographed: Marie Tharp Courtesy of the Tharp estate Photographed: Marie Tharp Courtesy of the Tharp estate Check out the behind-the-scenes process for today’s Doodle artwork Early sketches of Tharp and Hazeen characters Early Doodle paintings Early Doodle logo designs Guest Artist Q&A with VO artists: , , & Today’s Doodle voice overs were performed by three current female scientists who are making strides in the ocean science and geology spaces. Below, they each share their response to the following question: “Why was Marie Tharp's story meaningful to you?" Rebecca Nesel: Marie's story inspires me because she was a woman in earth science when that was very uncommon and dealt with many challenges because of that, like not being allowed on the research vessels or having her work dismissed by her own colleagues. Regardless, she remained confident in her work and her abilities, and didn't let those challenges dim her creativity and passion toward her work. Marie's story inspires me to keep sharing my own ideas with the world, even when it's scary. Dr. Tiara Moore: Marie Tharp is important to me because she is a formidable woman in science! Even when her colleagues were telling her she was wrong, an experience I know all too well, she decided that she knew her work was excellent and wouldn't be proven wrong so she did it again. And she was right. She created the first maps of the ocean floor and they are still used today. Marie reminds me to always let my haters be my motivators, and excellent work simply can't be discounted! MARIE THARP INTERACTIVE TEAM ART & UX DESIGN Olivia Huynh Alyssa Winans Anthony Irwin ENGINEERING Gemma Nash Jonathan Shneier Daniel Dovali PRODUCTION Producer | Brittany Dandy Music/Sound | Silas Hite VO Talent | Rebecca Nesel, Dr. Tiara Moore, Cate Larsen Accessibility Advisor | Peter Saathoff-Harshfield Marketing | Selly Sallah Business Affairs & Partnerships | Madeline Belliveau Doodle Team Leads | Jessica Yu, Perla Campos, Brenna Fallon, Tom Tabanao, Nate Swinehart Location: Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,