Scientist Who Mapped Ocean Floors Dies

William F. Haxby a scientist whose maps of the ocean floor formed the basis for studies of the ocean floor for two decades has died. Newsday has the story:

William F. Haxby, a scientist who used satellite measurements to produce the first detailed maps of the ocean's floors, has died. He was 56.

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William F. Haxby, an earth scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University, used computers to process data from satellites and other devices to create images detailing the makeup of the ocean bed.

In 1983, he created what several ocean scientists described as a "gravity field" map of the world's oceans, which was one of his biggest contributions to his field. Haxby processed measurements of the height of the sea surface collected by satellite to map the ocean bed.