The Dutch geophysicist who pioneered sea gravimetry and linked gravity anomalies to continental drift is which person?

• A. Andrei Sakharov
• B. Felix Andries Vening Meinesz
• C. Pierre Curie
• D. Louis Pasteur

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is how gravity measurements reveal variations in the Earth's subsurface structure. By mapping gravity across oceans, you can detect density differences in the crust and mantle, which helps outline continents, ocean basins, and other large-scale features. Felix Andries Vening Meinesz, a Dutch geophysicist, pioneered sea gravimetry by taking precise gravity measurements from ships and submarines. His careful sea-gravimetry work established reliable gravity data over the oceans and connected these gravity anomalies to the distribution of mass beneath the crust, providing early support for the idea that large landmasses could move relative to one another—the concept that later evolved into plate tectonics. The other names listed are notable scientists in different fields (Sakharov in physics and human rights, Curie in radioactivity, Pasteur in microbiology), not associated with sea gravimetry or linking gravity anomalies to continental drift.