Robert Ballard was born in Wichita, Kansas, in 1942, and was educated at the University of California at Santa Barbara, the University of Hawaii, the University of Southern California, and the University of Rhode Island, where he received his Ph.D. Part explorer, part geologist, part oceanographer, and part marine engineer, Ballard has worked at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Falmouth, Massachusetts, since 1969. He is currently director of the Center for Marine Exploration there. Ballard is perhaps best known to the general public in connection to the luxury liner Titanic. Ballard organized and participated in the expedition that discovered the ship in 1985.
The Lost Ships of Guadalcanal Hardcover – Import, 1993 by Rick Ballard, Robert D.; Archbold (Author). The Lost Ships of Guadalcanal by Robert D Ballard, 365, available at Book Depository with free delivery worldwide.
More important, however, is his work in designing underwater survey vehicles and in participating in dives to explore the ocean floor. His work in marine design and engineering, in particular, has led to a dramatic increase in the scope of deep-sea exploration. In the 1960s, Ballard helped develop the Alvin, a deep-sea, three-man submersible equipped with a remote controlled mechanical arm for collecting specimens from the ocean floor. The device played an important role in mid-ocean studies, including exploration of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and dives to the Cayman Trough, a 24,000-foot-deep gash in the ocean floor south of Cuba.
Ballard was part of the Galapagos Hydrothermal Expedition in 1977, which discovered and investigated deep-sea thermal vents spouting mineral-rich water from volcanic cracks in the Earth's crust. In the 1980s, Ballard helped develop the Argo-Jason unmanned submersible system, the most advanced craft of its kind. Argo is a 16-foot submersible vehicle and Jason is a self-propelled robot tethered to Argo. The search for the Titanic was undertaken as a test of the Argo-Jason system; the success of the expedition demonstrated its capabilities and, according to Ballard, 'ushered in a new era of undersea exploration.' The author of several bestselling books on deep-sea exploration, Ballard also contributes regularly to National Geographic and other magazines and he has produced several videotapes of deep-sea expeditions.
His reputation as a 'science populizer' has prompted harsh criticism from some of his scientific colleagues. In 1985, Ballard was one of four scientists awarded a Secretary of the Navy Research Chair in Oceanography, an award that carries with it an $800,000 grant for oceanographic research.Rick Archbold has written or co-written 18 non-fiction books including 'The Discovery of the Titanic, which he co-wrote with Robert Ballard, the man who discovered the wreck in 1985. The book has gone on to sell more than a million copies in its various editions worldwide. Rick's latest publication is 'Conversations with Mummies. When he's not editing or writing or teaching editing, Rick Archbold is often to be found paddling his canoe in the waters of Lake Joseph, Muskoka.Christopher Moore is a distinguished historian and writer who specializes in presenting history to general audiences. He is the author of 'Louisbourg Portraits, winner of the Governor General's Award for Non-Fiction, of 'Story of Canada, and most recently, co-author of the bestselling 'Canada: Our Century.
Wreath laying ceremony at Guadalcanal in 2015' Ironbottom Sound' (alternatively Iron Bottom Sound or Ironbottomed Sound or Iron Bottom Bay) is the name given by sailors to the stretch of water at the southern end of between, and of the, because of the dozens of ships and planes that sank there during the in 1942–43. Before the war, it was called Savo Sound. Every year on the battle's anniversary, a U.S. Ship cruises into the waters and drops a wreath to commemorate the men who lost their lives.
For many Navy sailors, and those who served in the area during that time, the waters in this area are considered sacred, and strict silence is observed as ships cruise through.