Mapping the Ocean Floor

Early Mapping.

With the development of sonar in World War II, a means was provided for studying the contour of the land underneath the oceans. Before sonar, the configuration of the ocean floor was mapped by a crude tracing method. A weight on a long chain or cable was lowered from a ship until the weight hit bottom. The depth of water at that point was determined. Then the weight was dragged slowly to show how the depths changed from place to place. Very deep oceans, strong

INTERNATIONAL GEOPHYSICAL YEAR

The International Council of Scientific Unions declared July 1957-December 1958 the International Geophysical Year (IGY), The council acted on the suggestion of American physicist Lloyd V. Berkner, who made a more modest proposal that the period be designated the third International Polar Year (the previous two had been 1882-1883 and 1932-1933). Timing was appropriate because IGY...

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