As a researcher at Columbia University in the 1950s and ’60s, she began the world’s first systematic, comprehensive attempt to map the ocean floor. I fell more deeply in love with this map when I learned the life story of Marie Tharp. It was the first map in history to hint at the full scope of what lies beneath the ocean. During my first round of graduate studies at Texas A&M, I came across a map to my future: the 1977 World Ocean Floor Panorama by Marie Tharp and Bruce Heezen. I majored in geology as an undergraduate and oceanography in graduate school. It is the sheer idea of the map’s existence, and the possibilities of what it could lead to, that drives Long John Silver and the other characters to the point of obsession. Ironically, the details of the map are never actually revealed. One of the pillars of the story is Captain Flint’s treasure map. I was completely enchanted by Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. NG: When did you realize the power of mapping?ĭawn Wright (DW): I realized the true power of mapping as an eight-year-old girl. From that moment on I was fascinated by the idea that human creations-such as plastic-can take on a life of their own, to the point where they start to negatively affect us even though we created them. In the process, I learned about the importance of balance in our oceans and saw the drastic unnatural conditions we were creating. Shelby O’Neil (SO): When I was in middle school, I learned about keystone species and their importance to our ecosystems. National Geographic Society (NG): When in your life did you realize the urgency of ocean conservation and education? Read the conversation below, then enter the challenge by creating your own impactful story about ocean health. We connected with Shelby and Dawn about what excites them so much about StoryMaps. That passion has guided their work in education, conservation, and mapping. National Geographic Young Explorer Shelby O’Neil and Chief Scientist of Esri, Dawn Wright, two of the judges for the challenge, developed a passion for the ocean early in their lives. If you’re in high school, college, or otherwise between 18 and 24 years of age we invite you to participate by integrating maps, data, and multimedia content with text to share a narrative about the world’s greatest challenges and inspire us all to find solutions. We’ve teamed up with Esri to officially launch the 2021 ArcGIS StoryMaps Challenge for Restoring Our Ocean.
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