Tectonics and Structural Geology

Marie Tharp: an inspiration for the past, present and future!

Hazel Gibson July 30, 2020

Image created from a photograph provided by Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the estate of Marie Tharp and using the World Ocean Floor Panorama, Bruce C. Heezen and Marie Tharp, 1977. Copyright by Marie Tharp 1977/2003. Reproduced by permission of Marie Tharp Maps LLC and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

Today marks the centennial of the birth of Marie Tharp, the person responsible for creating the first map of our planet’s ocean floors. Though her work was underappreciated at the time of its publication – mainly because she faced many significant barriers due to her gender – her maps ended up being instrumental evidence in support of the theory of plate tectonics. Marie herself ...[Read More]

GeoTalk: Hali Felt, author of ‘Soundings: The Story of the Remarkable Woman Who Mapped the Ocean Floor’

Hazel Gibson July 24, 2020

This month for GeoTalk, as we approach the centennial of Marie Tharp’s birth next week, we were lucky enough to speak with the author of her biography ‘Soundings: The Story of the Remarkable Woman Who Mapped the Ocean Floor‘; Hali Felt. Hali has a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Iowa and has completed residencies at MacDowell, the Sitka Center for Art and Ecolog ...[Read More]

Imaggeo On Monday: Under the sea, in the deep, where fire meets water and life emerges III

Hazel Gibson July 13, 2020

Under the sea, in the deep, where fire meets water and life emerges III. Credit: Thibaut Barreyre (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

650 metres below the chilly waves of the North Atlantic Arctic Ocean, equidistant between Norway, Iceland and Greenland, are the Jan Mayen Vent Fields. Home to a series of hydrothermal vents strung along a set of normal faults and fissures that run parallel to the seafloor ridge, this is a strange and fascinating place. Hydrothermal vents are places where tectonic activity provides a way for the h ...[Read More]

Imaggeo On Monday: Geoscientific selfie at the Dead Sea

Djamil Al-Halbouni July 6, 2020

Geoscientific selfie at the Dead Sea. Credit: Djamil Al-Halbouni (distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

This is an aerial image taken from a balloon at around 150m height, at the eastern shoreline of the Dead Sea. Such “selfies” are scientifically valuable, providing important data that help researchers to analyze the morphology of the retreating lake and investigate associated hazards like sinkholes, subsidence and landslides. The older shorelines, visible as lines on the shore stand fo ...[Read More]