PubTalk — Commotions in the Oceans

USGS Shipboard Research Sparked Scientific Advances

By William R. Normark, and

David W. Scholl, Marine Geologists

• Alaskan work from the Survey's M/V Eider in the 1950's led to visualizing how great earthquakes and tsunamis originate along trenches
• In the 1970's, researchers discovered deep-sea "black smokers" and the Survey's R/V S.P. Lee found massive sulfide deposits on the Juan de Fuca Ridge
• USGS scientists on the R/V Farnella confirmed and mapped humongous submarine landslides off Hawaii's coasts in the 1980's
• Extensive international Pacific Ocean expeditions of the Lee in 1982-84 yielded a rich harvest of discoveries, including sea-floor cobalt concentrations
• Where we are heading-what are the challenges for future discoveries in the oceans?