Robert Ballard's Accomplishments

Robert Ballard was known for his work in underwater archeology and discovery of shipwrecks. He joined the army in 1965 and requested to fulfill his obligation in the navy. His request to aiding in the navy allowed Ballard to design small, unmanned submersibles that could be tethered and controlled from a surface ship. Ballard’s works that were contributed in aiding the navy also contributed in searching for his first shipwreck, the Titanic. Robert Ballard was able to contribute his discoveries to America by the exploration of undersea technology, his relationship with the navy in cooperating with Ballard’s explorations, and the use of deep-diving submarines to explore the surface of the ocean and encounter abandoned or destroyed ships of past

In order for Ballard to travel into the ocean, he would have to create machines that could be able to detect its surroundings. “Argo itself would have two systems-a forward-looking one to detect any obstacles in its path and a side-looking sonar to investigate bottom geology” (Ballard). With Argo, Ballard would be able to avoid any obstacles in his way that could destroy his technology and possibly risk his life. While avoiding obstacles, he was also able to uncover the geology of the ocean floor. Being able to uncover the geology had aided Ballard to map out the ocean floor and investigate unknown species. Mapping out the ocean floor enabled to Ballard to observe where he should travel to in order for his trip underwater to be safe. He was able to map out the obstacles that could be in his way and disrupt his explorations. With the investigation of unknown species, Ballard was able to observe their lifestyles and extracted information that could be essential to his research besides the abandoned shipwrecks. “On one of his most famous expeditions, Dr. Ballard and a team of scientists traveled to the Galapagos Islands in 1977 and discovered hot springs on the ocean floor called hydrothermal vents” (Education through Exploration). The

Due to Ballard’s service with the Navy, he had kept in contact with those he had connected with during training. Through his connections, he was able to gain the money needed to explore the deep ocean. “But I finally convinced a person, the Secretary of the Navy John Lehman, that he ought to bet on me, and he did. The Navy funded the Argo-Jason system” (Robert Ballard Interview). With the help of funding the Argo-Jason system, Ballard was able to use this technology to see in total darkness and be able to retrieve any items on the ocean floor that seem interesting to Ballard’s research. Since Ballard realized that as one goes deeper into the ocean, the light of the sun begins to fade away, so he decided to develop the Argo that would enable him to see as he traveled deeper into the ocean floor to reach his destination. Without the Argo, Ballard would have been traveling aimlessly into darkness without expecting anything to hit him at any moment. This could have risked his life and put him in danger of being lost in the ocean. Without the Jason attachment to the Argo, Ballard wouldn’t have been able to gather evidence of his exploration and be able to discover new information about what the ocean floor contains. His evidence provides the facts that he has gone underwater and explored the deep ocean. In order to be able to get