Robert Ballard, the man whose name is associated with the discovery of the sunken ocean liner the Titanic, is in Cyprus on a special expedition on board the US research vessel “Nautilus” to investigate “Eratosthenes” mountain, at the bottom of the sea, 60 miles off Cyprus’ western coast.
In an interview with CNA, he talks about his career, how technology has changed the way he operates and points out that in his view his greatest discovery is the hydrothermal conduits and not the wreck of the Titanic, or that of the German battleship Bismarck, which sunk in World War II or even the discovery of the passenger liner Lusitania, sunk by a German torpedo during World War I.
To date, Robert Ballard has conducted more than 120 undersea expeditions, pioneering the use of the latest in submarine technology to plunge ever deeper into the mysteries of the ocean.
“There is a lot more to learn underwater than above water,” he tells CNA and referred to the new life forms created by hydrothermal conduits as a living system which nobody knew it even existed.
On his Cyprus mission, he said he is on this expedition, accompanying his son and many other students, teachers and educators.
He explained that they communicate with schools, museums and aquariums, broadcasting images via specialized equipment.
“We have these consoles, control panels, many of them are on land. I have one just like this in my office and a second one in my other office on Rhode island, so in fact I don’t really need to be here,” he said.
Replying to another question about his mission, the 70 year old oceanographer acknowledged that he does not know what the Cyprus expedition will unveil.
He also explained that because they expect the unexpected, they gather experts in various fields, some on board the ship, others waiting to be called.
“We call them ‘doctors on call’. We have scientists all over the world who may get a phone call when we make a discovery,” he added.
Robert Ballard is not new to the island of Cyprus, he visited two years ago, exploring an area where there was a huge mountain, “Eratosthenes”, 60 miles from the coast of Paphos.
“We have found that from this mountain came out much gas, methane, from the seabed. What happens to the “Eratosthenes” is like having Africa and Europe crashing into one another. It’s a very big collision. And Cyprus as you know is an ancient ocean floor, there was a push up, the copper and the mines of Cyprus came from the ocean floor. The same is happening to “Eratosthenis”. It’s being squeezed and gas is coming out of it. That is what we are exploring,” he explained.
Asked about how he embarked on his career, he recalls that at the age of 17 he won a scholarship to work with oceanographers on their ship and fell in love with the adventure and the excitement such a job entailed.
“So I said to myself this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I had a dream as a child and now I’m living my dream,” he pointed out, adding that the film “One Thousand Leagues Under the Sea”, based on Jules Verne’s book, was a great inspiration for him.
“My hero was Captain Nemo”, he says, noting that he wanted to copy him and become like him.
He said he has studied four disciplines at university: mathematics, physics, chemistry and geology and then got a PhD in geology, marine geology and physics. He has established two scientific centres – the Centre for Ocean Exploration and Archaeological Oceanography and the School of Oceanography.
On his most famous discovery, that of the ocean liner Titanic, which at the time it was being built in Northern Ireland it was declared unsinkable, he said “I have been doing this job for 53 years and I have made 70 discoveries, including the Titanic and Bismarck, and around 150 expeditions.”
Asked which discovery he considers the most significant, he replied “I would say that the greatest discovery is the hydrothermal conduits on the seabed and the new life forms they create. We have discovered a living system on the planet which nobody knew it even existed.”
As for the use of technology in his expeditions and how this has affected his work, he said advances in technology have made a very big difference to his job – optical instruments, satellite navigation, computers. “Technology has improved greatly, so we don’t have to get out of the sea.”
Robert Ballard is very keen on bringing children close to the sea, he tells CNA, inviting parents to encourage their kids to do just that. “My favorite experience is bringing young people closer to science.”
When asked what he would tell people to do with the ocean, his reply was very prompt: “Explore the ocean. The majority of the planet is covered by water. Like me, I want to explore the land and this is my mission with this boat. I want to get there where nobody has been until today on the whole planet earth. There is much more to learn underwater than above water.”
As for his next assignment, he says after Cyprus, he is going to embark on a journey around the world. “Next year we will be in the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean where we will stay for a long time,” he adds.
Invited to describe a typical day in his life, he replied “there is no normal day for me. As you can see, you never know what might happen, or what you can discover. The boat moves 24 hours a day, and I usually climb on it to get away from my office which is in the land.”
Robert Ballard is a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island, who is most noted for his work in underwater archaeology, maritime archaeology and archaeology of shipwrecks.
