Interesting Facts About Robert Ballard

Robert Ballard (Born: June 30, 1942) is a deep-sea explorer.He is best known for discovering the wreck of the Titanic in 1985.Through his explorations, he has uncovered many mysteries hidden in the depths of the ocean.

Ballard grew up in San Diego, California.As a boy, he was fascinated with stories about underwater sea exploration.His father was a missile scientist who helped his 19-year-old son get a job developing a manned submersible called Alvin.Ballard attended the University of California at Santa Barbara.

While there, he traded an eventual commission in U.S.Army Intelligence for a U.S.Navy appointment to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.He later went on to the University of Southern California and the University of Hawaii.In 1974, he received a doctorate in marine geology and geophysics from the University of Rhode Island.

Ballard's Project FAMOUS (French-American Mid-Ocean Undersea Study) resulted in some of the first underwater field mapping.He manned a submersible to explore the Mid-Atlantic Ridge underwater mountain range at a depth of 20,000 feet (6,100 meters).In 1977, Ballard investigated the Galápagos Rift in the Pacific Ocean.This led to the discovery of hydrothermal vents in the seafloor.He found that these warm vents are surrounded by a rich ecosystem.There were colorful tube worms, giant clams, and plants that synthesize food chemically rather than with light energy.The entire system represented a major scientific discovery.Ballard went on many more expeditions.He even explored one of the Pacific Ocean's underwater volcanoes, or "black smokers." All the while, he continued to improve submersible vehicles for deep-sea exploration.

In 1985, Ballard gained world recognition when he located the long-lost luxury liner HMS Titanic, which had struck an iceberg and sunk in the Atlantic in 1912.Ballard visited the wreck and recorded eerie close-up images.These were later widely broadcast on the National Geographic program Secrets of the Titanic.Ballard received a huge number of letters from schoolchildren who took an interest in that discovery; it was this interest that led him to launch the JASON Project.Ballard helped develop telecommunications devices that would allow students in their classrooms to follow him, via real-time video, on his expeditions.Since its founding in 1989, JASON has helped make science and mathematics come to life for millions of participants.

Ballard has been involved in a host of other major discoveries.He explored the sunken German battleship Bismarck and the Lusitania (the ship whose loss led to the United States entry into World War I).He also discovered the wreck of the U.S.aircraft carrier Yorktown (lost at the Battle of Midway).In the late 1990s, he found two ancient Phoenician vessels and four 1,500-year-old ships in the Black Sea.In 2002, Ballard located and photographed PT-109, an 80-foot (24-meter) wooden interceptor vessel that in 1943 collided with a Japanese destroyer and sank in the South Pacific.This was the ship on which future president John F.Kennedy served.

Ballard has long been affiliated with Woods Hole.He has written numerous articles and books.Among them are Finding the Titanic and the autobiographical Explorations.

Tommy Cross “Discovering Titanic” 2001

Article Written by Farah


Post Your Comment

Related Articles

  • Disturbances Of Lipid Metabolism: The Lipidoses

    The term “lipid” is generic and includes all fats and substances compounded with fats. Disturbances of lipid metabolism are responsible for a number of clinical entities for which the term “lipidoses” has been proposed. Clinical interest is centered chiefly in xanthomatoses, xanthomatous tissue changes, Gaucher’s disease, Nimeann-Pick disease, Tay-Sachs disease, lipochondrodystrophy.

  • The Dangerous Of Blackberry (BB)

    Day by day, Blackberry (BB) becomes more popular among people. Blackberry gets much popularities not only because of its cool and great features, but also due to some social reasons. Blackberry actually is really dangerous, not in the term of health, but socially, Blackberry may cause a distraction that may never be understood.

  • Tetanus – Etiology, Epidemiology, And Pathogenesis

    The systemic manifestations of tetanus are caused by the powerful exotoxin, liberated during the actively growing phase, of Clostridium tetani, a spore-forming organism. Like diphtheria, the infection remains localized. Infection is almost always acquired from a contaminated wound.

  • Some Positive Aspects Of Using Facebook

    Has been long criticized by so many people of containing too much negative impacts, Facebook actually also has some positive aspects if you broaden your perspective. This article will help you to show what are good aspects of Facebook that is actually not only a place for sharing and socializing. Have a close eye.

  • Why Does Unemployment Exist?

    Why does unemployment exist? There is a variety of reasons. First, seasonal unemployment occurs because the business of many employers (for instance, resort hotels, farming, and construction) is seasonal in nature. Workers are laid off temporarily.

    Second, technological unemployment occurs when new labor-saving machines or processes replace old ones. When particular jobs and skills are made obsolete, workers must find other types of jobs and learn new skills. The growing use of automation has caused considerable technological unemployment.

  • The Effects Of Air Pollution To Emotions

    The question regarding this issue is; does air pollution affect our emotions? Dr. Marshall Mandell, as quoted by Lawrence Galton in his book, reported findings what he considers to be direct cause-and-effect relationships between air pollutants and various neurological and psychological disorders usually considered to be emotional in nature.

  • General Hygiene Measures Of Diabetic Patient

    The diabetic patient must ever keep in mind his propensity for infection. Keeping the number of infections at a minimum is largely dependent upon the individual’s personal hygienic habits. Personal hygiene in the diabetic patient refers primarily to cleanliness. Careful and frequent cleansing of the skin should be emphasized. Immediate attention to all skin abrasions will often prevent serious sequelae.

  • Natural Vegetation And Fauna Of Europe

    Topographic, climatic, and human influences are mainly responsible for the present distribution of natural vegetation and of fauna. Climatic changes in Europe, especially those since the Ice Age, have left their impact on the distribution of plants and animals. Man’s influence accounts for the fact that Europe’s original forested area pf close to 85%, only one-third remains, much of it second growth or the scrub forest of the Mediterranean area. The extensive grasslands of the southern parts of Russia also have been intensively cultivated.

  • Albatross - Physical Characteristics, Habitat, Diet, Behavior

    Albatross is any one of several large oceanic birds of unsurpassed powers of flight constituting a family in the petrel group. They are most common in the turbulent seas around Cape Horn and other far southern waters, where they ride out the roughest storms with ease. Sailors traditionally regarded the albatross with awe and veneration. When Coleridge's "ancient mariner" shot the fabled albatross, the bird was hung from his neck in penance, but this did not stay the hand of misfortune.

  • Complications Of Common Respiratory Disease

    Purulent paranasal sinusitis, otitis media, mastoiditis, and bacterial pneumonia are frequent and often serious complications of the common respiratory diseases. These conditions are true bacterial infections. Pneumococci, staphylococci, and streptococci are the chief offenders. Secondary bacterial infection should be suspected if fever increases or leukocytosis occurs, as explained by A.E. Feller in Viral Infections of the Respiratory Tract.