Google Doodle celebrates life of American geologist Marie Tharp

The life of Marie Tharp, the American geologist and oceanographic cartographer who helped prove the theories of continental drift, is being celebrated in the latest Google Doodle. On November 21, 1998, the Library of Congress named him one of the greatest cartographers of the 20th century.

On the 16th anniversary of her death, we celebrate @LamontEarth geologist Marie Tharp and her pioneering contributions to mapping Earth’s seafloor.@MorayMo, co-founding dean of @ColumbiaClimate, shared more about Tharp’s inspiring life and work: https://t.co/SUHr3sEETN pic.twitter.com/LCHLIoTnri

— Columbia University (@Columbia) August 23, 2022

Marie Tharp was born in Ypsilanti, Michigan on July 30, 1920, in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Tharp's father worked for the US Department of Agriculture and gave him an early introduction to map-making, reminiscent of doodles. He attended the University of Michigan for a master's degree in petroleum geology. In 1948, she moved to New York City and became the first woman to work at the Lamont Geological Observatory, where she met geologist Bruce Hazen.

Marie Tharp put ocean floors on the map. Today’s interactive #GoogleDoodle celebrates Marie Tharp—American geologist and cartographer who found evidence of continental drift along the seafloor.

Learn more about her life's work here → https://t.co/cVWh7EJrO6 pic.twitter.com/Tx34S1MpeX

— Google Doodles (@GoogleDoodles) November 21, 2022

Hazen collected data of ocean-depth in the Atlantic Ocean, which Tharp used to develop maps of the mysterious ocean floor. New findings from echo sounders (sonars used to detect water depth) led him to helped discover the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. She brought these findings to Hazen, who discredited it as "girl talk," says Google on its page dedicated to Tharpe. Bruce Hazen could not ignore the facts when he compared these V-shaped fissures with the map of the center."

Google Celebrates Life Of American Geologist Marie Tharp With An Interactive Doodle.
On November 21, 1998, the Library of Congress named her one of the greatest cartographers of the 20th century.
Marie Tharp was born on July 30, 1920, in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
In 1957, Tharp and H pic.twitter.com/lC1Juog5Zl

— Nalanda IAS Academy (@nalandaias) November 21, 2022

In 1957, Tharp and Hazen co-published the first map of sea level in the North Atlantic. Two decades later, National Geographic published the first world map of the entire ocean floor, authored by Tharp and Hazen, titled "The World Ocean Floor".

In 1995, Tharp donated his entire map collection to the Library of Congress. In 2001, the Lamont Geological Observatory, where Tharp began his career, honored him with its first annual Lamont–Doherty Heritage Award.