Marie Tharp: Uncovering the Secrets of the Ocean Floor - with Helen Czerski

Continental drift is common knowledge now, but when the idea was first proposed it was revolutionary. Helen Czerski tells the story of how the maps of one of history’s finest cartographers shifted our view of the planet.

In the early 20th century, Alfred Wegener proposed a revolutionary idea: that the Earth’s continents were once joined together, and had gradually moved apart. The idea contradicted almost everything scientists thought at the time, and it took the detailed work of a brilliant cartographer to prove him right.

Conventional ideas held that the ocean floors were flat, featureless planes. As expeditions started to go around the world collecting ocean depth measurements, Marie Tharp – not allowed to join the expeditions herself – processed the data and began to craft detailed, revealing maps of the hidden ocean depths.

She discovered that the ocean floor was in fact a complex assortment of peaks and troughs. In particular, her profiles revealed stark rift valleys, which supported Wegener’s controversial ideas. Even then, it took a long time to convince the scientific community that her findings were correct. Eventually, however, she was proved right, and Marie Tharp took her rightful place as one of history’s finest cartographers.

[TheRoyalInstitution]

Chinese, Portuguese and Spanish, these are the three languages that this video has been translated into by our talented and generous YouTube friends!

[vazak]

Why was this not taught to me in school!?!?

[MalfunctonMke]

I loved the video, allthough the drawings made me a bit dizzy, but that is just me. Well done, Folks!

[cosmicwarriorx]

great video... thank you for bringing her story to public.

[markcox]

Excellent video about stuff I've never heard about. Would love to see more in this style.
Well done to all involved. 😀

[ratboygenius]

". . . A pattern of scars that spanned the Earth's oceans – permanent wounds torn into existence through the process of continental drift."
That sounds so poetic and beautiful. However, we should also consider that the drift didn't CAUSE the "scars", perhaps the energy lines where the scars appear are DRIVING the continental drift.

[RichardEricCollins]

Great video had not heard of Marie Tharp. Nice to hear Helen again I thought it was her narrating. :)

[csh]

Loved this! Marie Tharp appeared in the BBC Earth Story from the 80s (or was it 90s?) It is a fabulous series including the development of the theory (then) of continental drift. Narrated by biologist Aubrey Manning, rocks never sounded so interesting! Where David Attenborough's Life series told us about the evolution of life on earth, Earth Story provides the geological angle.

[rameshdevasi]

and marie literally means star of the sea.

[mitzvahgolem]

Bravo...Rosalin Franklin and Lisa Mietner...

[anonde]

Very good video. The name is Wegener, not Wengener.

[locouk]

I wonder where the idea of a woman onboard a ship brought bad luck came from?

[bumpkin]

So, Tharp didn't have enough evidence and needed Howard Foster's research to prove her theory. Sounds like Howard Foster needs more credit here.

[iankelsall]

the irony of men doing hard science, whilst saying it's bad luck to bring a woman on a ship...

[Siriuslyyy]

great topic and narration, but the video had too much vibration in it. please don't do that ever again, it was distressing to the eye.

[jppfox]

eu vim aqui para fazer uma lição de geografia ;-;

[ryklatortuga]

Left handed - very sinister - not to be trusted on a boat

[Ngamotu]

My admiration for Marie Tharp has skyrocketed up from nothing, while my respect for Jacques Cousteau has shrunk.

[pineapplehazeclub]

I love the video till you start speaking about tectonic plates movements.

[graphomanuk]

Love the statement "turn the tide". She's wrong though.