21st Century Explorers: Robert Ballard

Journey to the Bottom of the Sea
The National Geographic Society recently named a group of leading explorers as its first group of "Explorers-in-Residence." Among them is oceanographer and underwater explorer, Dr. Robert Ballard. This summer Ballard journeys to the Black Sea to uncover secrets from ancient routes and more. What makes Ballard's newest mission so exciting?

Riverdeep recently interviewed Dr. Robert Ballard to learn about his upcoming expedition and his thoughts on exploration, education, and the JASON Project, which combines both. Ballard has over 65 underwater missions to his credit. From the Pacific Ocean to the Mediterranean, Ballard and his team of oceanographers, archaeologists, and marine archaeologists have uncovered some of the world's most fascinating hidden treasures from underwater volcanoes to sunken ships.

Preparations for investigating the Black Sea trade routes began in 1997 when Ballard led an expedition along the route between Carthage to Rome. He followed with another expedition in the Mediterranean along the coasts of Israel and Egypt.

Hear what Ballard found along these ancient trade routes.

     

(This and the other sound files in this article require QuickTime. Download now.)

A Joint Effort
Putting together an expedition of this magnitude has involved cooperation between many fields of science, including oceanography, ocean engineering, archaeology, anthropology, maritime history, and marine archaeology. A group of experts in these fields will be accompanying Ballard.

Coordinating such an effort requires months—maybe even years—of research, study, and preparation. Even when everything goes smoothly, obstacles still arise. For instance, Ballard explains, "wood bores [a specialized mollusk that eats wood] have removed and eaten all the exposed upper portions of these ships...they've sort of eaten a lot of history."

Hear more details about this mollusk that literally "eats away" at history.

     

What makes the Black Sea unique, and what does Ballard believe he'll find? Make a list of possible answers before you listen to the response.

     

The National Geographic Society asked Ballard to expand his mission to include searching for evidence of the great flood described in the Old Testament. The Society's interest was heightened by the publication last year of Noah's Flood, a book written by two oceanographers. The authors claim that the area around the Black Sea may actually have been the site of that cataclysmic flood.

Last summer Ballard's team went 550 feet below the Black Sea to investigate. He found the ancient shoreline indicating the presence of a land bridge. But he found even more compelling evidence of a flood that may have occurred around 5000 B.C.

During last summer's expedition, Ballard's team found shells that turned out to have great significance. Before listening to the explanation, think of some reasons why shells might be an important find.

     

Depths of Discovery
Columbus, Magellan, Byrd, Cortez, Lewis and Clark. Their names and discoveries are legendary. Why would the National Geographic Society want to "redefine exploration"?

When this same question is posed to Ballard, he remarks that he is often asked questions such as, "That's over with, isn't it?" "Didn't we do that in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries?" "Aren't we done [exploring]?"

Ballard's hearty and enthusiastic reply: "We've only begun!"

Think about exploration in Ballard's terms. He points out that 71% of the planet is covered by water and that most of our planet is unexplored. "Less than 1% of the world's oceans and seas have been explored!" While there have been "great discoveries made in this 1%," Ballard wants to know "what about the other 99%?" Ballard believes that the Southern Hemisphere, where most of the world's oceans are situated and which explorers have largely ignored, should be of great interest to explorers.

Can you think of an amazing find that lies beneath the deep sea, but provides "tremendous potential" for future expeditions? Hear what Ballard has to say.

     

Ballard concludes his remarks about exploring in today's world by saying: "There's a huge difference between exploration and science. Science comes after the explorer!"

• How would you interpret Ballard's comment on the relationship between exploration and science?
  
  

Read this article about the Explorers-in-Residence team, and look at the projects they will be researching. What criteria do you think makes them "explorers" and not "scientists" (or the other way around)?

• "Magnificent seven boldly go to discover the untapped riches of Earth"
  
  

Exploration and Education
When asked how education today can help prepare students to be explorers for tomorrow, Ballard replies that the goal is to "motivate and engage them, to excite them, to energize them, as well as their teachers." He believes that today's middle- and elementary-schoolers "are going to explore more of Earth and more of outer space than all previous generations combined."

Near the Galapagos Islands, Ballard discovered giant tube worms, some measuring over 4 feet long. Off the coast of California he found underwater volcanoes called "black smokers." He is credited with discovering numerous schooners and trade ships in waters from Lake Ontario to the Mediterranean Sea. Using a specially designed submersible and robot, Ballard and his team located and entered the wreck of the Titanic and photographed its interior.

What do you think Ballard considers to be his greatest discovery? Make a list of possible answers before you listen to his words. After you hear his answer, list the ways it applies to you and your classmates.

     

Ballard explains his wish for students. Click this picture to view his explanation at 100k or view a 28.8k version here. You'll need the free QuickTime plug-in for this and the other video clips in the story.

Cool Science
Since its inception 12 years ago, Ballard's JASON Project has had "5 million children" accompany his missions to the depths of the world's waters and experience the thrill of underwater exploration.

Ballard notes that about 750,000 schoolchildren participated in JASON XI: "Going to Extremes." Of those, "a majority were girls (53%), 14% Hispanics, and 12% African-Americans," proving, he adds, "that anyone can play in this sport."

How is the JASON Project changing attitudes about science? Hear what Ballard has to say. Why do you agree or disagree with what Ballard says about science?

     

• Check out the JASON Project Web site for more information on the upcoming missions.
  
  

More Links

• Read dispatches from "Ballard & the Black Sea" on the National Geographic site.
  
  
• The Explorers-in-Residence section of National Geographic's site includes biographies of each explorer and a video of the explorers discussing the future of exploration.
  
  

Related Resources

• Ballard has numerous books to his credit. His most recent book is The Eternal Darkness: A Personal History of Deep-Sea Exploration.
  
  
• Check out a book that influenced Ballard's latest mission: Noah's Flood: The New Scientific Discoveries About the Event That Changed History by Walter Pittman and William B. F. Ryan.