Dissertation Grant: The Seafloor and Society: How Technological Development on the Ocean Floor Transformed North America

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This award supports doctoral dissertation research that will lead to one of the first histories of fixed seafloor infrastructure in the Northeast Pacific Ocean during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The analysis will focus specifically on the historical development of three types of seafloor industries that have become indispensable to large sectors of modern society: offshore oil drilling (provides about 30% of the globe’s supply of oil), undersea cables (facilitates 95% of all Internet and international phone traffic), and seafloor observatories (employs scientific instruments at the forefront of collecting data that can help to prepare onshore society for earthquakes and tsunamis). The researcher will use insights from STS, environmental history, and marine science to rethink common perceptions of the ocean and illustrate news way that technologies and societies are connected. The results of this project will promote a better understanding of the extent to which seafloor infrastructures support onshore societies and of the likely consequences of their loss due to natural disasters, environmental collapse, or conflict. They will be disseminated to both academic and public audiences, including the publication of a peer-reviewed article in a STS journal, and the presentation of a conference paper. The doctoral dissertation will be a first iteration of a book manuscript to be published subsequently by a major academic press. The results of this project will also be used to develop an art exhibit for the general public; and they will be integrated into various university courses and public lectures.This research project on the history of seafloor infrastructures will bring together, engage with, and contribute to three key areas of research: science and technology studies, marine environmental history, and marine science. Each of these fields have previously correlated technological innovation in the ocean with advancements in marine science. This research project will show that the early development of fixed seafloor technology was the result of the need to support the growth of onshore infrastructure and not necessarily an outcome of scientific knowledge of the seafloor, meaning that the development of cutting-edge technology preceded scientific knowledge of the environment in which it was installed. It will also explore the extent to which onshore society has become dependent on a complex seafloor infrastructure, and vice versa; it promises to break down perceived barriers between ocean and land and between unseen seafloor environments and the development of modern communications, policies, government territories, and natural resources. Finally, it will show that the seabed is one of the most vital frontiers for technological and geopolitical development in the twenty-first century; it is critical to global resource extraction, telecommunications, and marine science. The results of this study will be of substantial interest to industry, governmental personnel, and the general public, in addition to academics in the three research areas indicated above.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.