Deep Mapping: Vocabulary

'Using data from deep-sea cameras, Tharp and Heezen's job was to locate airplanes that had crashed and sunk to the bottom of the ocean.'

What is data?

• Facts and statistics

• False information

• Theories

• Spelling mistakes

Answer explanation

Data is defined as facts or figures, or items of information. An example of data is information collected for a research paper. An example of data is an email.

'When Tharp was in college, many scientific fields were closed to women...some geology departments opened their doors to women for the first time during the war...soon she became a professional geologist'

Do you know what geology is the study of?

• Sea

• Space and stars

• Earth and rocks

• Time

Answer explanation

Also known as 'geoscience' or 'Earth science', geology is the study of the structure, evolution and dynamics of the Earth and its natural mineral and energy resources. Geology investigates the processes that have shaped the Earth through its 4500 million (approximate!)

'They would gather data from research boats crossing the oceans, taking depth measurements called soundings'

What is depth?

• Distance from the surface to the bottom

• Distance from left to right

• The numbers on a ruler

Answer explanation

The vertical distance below a surface; the amount that something is deep. Depth is defined as the distance from top down or front to back, or the intensity of color or sound. An example of depth is a swimming pool being six feet deep. An example of depth is the darkness of a purple dress.

'The machine sent out an electronic sound signal called a ping... A stylus marked the time the ping left the machine.'

What is a stylus?

• A needle

• A pen

• A pencil

Answer explanation

A very small, pointed piece of metal that touches a record and produces sound when the record is played. Needle. : a tool used long ago for writing on clay or wax tablets. : a small tool that is used to write or touch buttons on a computer.

The original “stylus” was a bit of ancient technology: It was a pointy stick for writing on clay or wax tablets, going back to the cuneiform of Mesopotamia. The Latin word “stilus” also gave rise to “style,” as the name of the writing utensil got extended to a writer's characteristic manner.

'Heezen gathered information at sea. He then sent it to Tharp, who began the difficult job of making sense out of the raw data.'

What is raw data?

• Uncooked data

• Information collected indirectly from a source

• False information

• Information collected directly from a source or study

Answer explanation

Raw data (sometimes called source data, atomic data or primary data) is data that has not been processed for use. Because of processing, raw data sometimes ends up in a database, which enables the data to become accessible for further processing and analysis in a number of different ways.

Examples of Raw Data:

A list of every purchase at a store during a month but with no further structure or analysis. Every second of footage recorded by a security camera overnight. The grades of all of the students in a school district for a quarter. A list of every movie being streamed by video streaming company.

'After years of work, Tharp still had a confusing hodgepodge of results that showed disconnected chunks.'

What does hodgepodge mean?

• A confused mixture

• A jumble

• A mixture of different types of things

• All of the above

Answer explanation

Hodgepodge is a confused mixture of different things. It's an untidy mixture of different types of things.

'The data showed a vast underwater opening in the Atlantic Ocean. This rift was strong evidence for the theory of continental drift.'

What is a rift?

• An opening made by a split

• A deep break in the Earth's crust

• Separation

• All of the above

Answer explanation

A rift valley is a lowland region that forms where Earth's tectonic plates move apart, or rift. Rift valleys are found both on land and at the bottom of the ocean, where they are created by the process of seafloor spreading.