"When Dawn Wright submitted her master's thesis in the 1980s - a geophysical survey of the Pacific Ocean's Tonga Trench using sea-floor data collected by others -- it was grudgingly approved. But her professor advised her afterwards that she had no future in oceanography and should consider a non-scientific profession....Today, she is a distinguished oceanographer and chief scientist at Esri, a software company in Redlands, California, renowned for creating geographical information systems. In 2022, she became the fifth woman and the first Black person to visit Challenger Deep, the deepest place on Earth's sea bed, nearly 11,000 metres beneath the Pacific Ocean's surface.... Her charming life story, with many appealing images, is written by four Esri Press colleagues in collaboration with Wright. It shows how, in her words, "we can turn the unknown deep into the known deep".

"Written lucidly and accompanied by an engaging collection of photographs, diagrams, explanatory asides and illuminating personal anecdotes, Mapping the Deep is perfect for anybody with a thirst for exploration - especially young adults looking for inspiring role models."

""Deepsea Dawn," is an oceanographer who is an authority on the mapping of the seafloor. Her new book Mapping the Deep: Innovation, Exploration, and the Dive of a Lifetime, documents not only her groundbreaking research but also her personal journey to the great ocean depths. Being the first African American and one of a handful of women to make such dives, she has broken multiple barriers and served as an inspiration to many." - The Explorers Journal

Publisher: Esri Press

Pub date: 2024-09-03

Length: 190 pages