Bruce C. Heezen
Encyclopedia
Bruce Charles Heezen was an American geologist. He is most famous as being the leader of a team from Columbia University
which mapped the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
during the 1950s.
Heezen was born in Vinton, Iowa
. He received his B.A. from the University of Iowa
in 1947 and in 1952 his M.A. from Columbia University and in 1957 his Ph.D.
Heezen interpreted his early work on the mid-Atlantic ridge as supporting S. Warren Carey's Expanding Earth Theory which had been developed in the 1950s, and "eventually gave up the idea of an expanding earth for a form of continental drift in the mid-1960s".
Heezen died in 1977 during a research cruise to study the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near Iceland
aboard the NR-1 submarine
.
The Oceanographic Survey Ship USNS Bruce C. Heezen was christened in honor of him in 1999.
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
which mapped the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Mid-Atlantic Ridge
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and part of the longest mountain range in the world. It separates the Eurasian Plate and North American Plate in the North Atlantic, and the African Plate from the South...
during the 1950s.
Heezen was born in Vinton, Iowa
Vinton, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 5,257 in the city, with a population density of . There were 2,299 housing units, of which 2,187 were occupied....
. He received his B.A. from the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
in 1947 and in 1952 his M.A. from Columbia University and in 1957 his Ph.D.
Heezen interpreted his early work on the mid-Atlantic ridge as supporting S. Warren Carey's Expanding Earth Theory which had been developed in the 1950s, and "eventually gave up the idea of an expanding earth for a form of continental drift in the mid-1960s".
Heezen died in 1977 during a research cruise to study the Mid-Atlantic Ridge near Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
aboard the NR-1 submarine
NR-1 Deep Submergence Craft
The Deep Submergence Vessel NR-1 was a unique United States Navy nuclear-powered ocean engineering and research submarine. It was built by the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics at Groton, Connecticut. It was launched on January 25, 1969, completed its initial sea trials August 19, 1969,...
.
The Oceanographic Survey Ship USNS Bruce C. Heezen was christened in honor of him in 1999.