# Dorothy Jung Echols

Dorothy Jung Echols (September 9, 1916 – February 4, 1997) was an American geologist known for her contributions to the field of micropaleontology and her participation in the The Deep Sea Drilling Project. She also served as a professor for the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Washington University and remained active in the geoscience community until her death in 1997.

## Biography

Echols was born in The Bronx, but grew up and attended high school in Brooklyn. When asked about her career aspirations, she responded, “I like minerals.” Echols received her Bachelor of Arts degree in geology from New York University in 1936, graduating with distinction. From 1934 to 1935, she also served as the captain of the Varsity Swim team and was a member of the Women's Swimming Association, receiving the Florence Frankel medal for swimming excellence. She later received her master's degree in Geology from Columbia University in 1938. Afterwards, she moved to Texas and secured a position at Republic Production Company, where she worked for three years as a paleontologist and micropaleontologist.
In 1941, she married Leonard S. Echols, a research chemist working for Shell. After the marriage, she left Republic Production Company and moved with him to New York. Together they had four children: Leonard S. Echols III, Jon Jung Echols, Lizette DePue Echols, and William Ring Echols. In 1942, they moved to St. Louis and built a home. Between 1946 and 1951, Echols worked as a geologic consultant for Pond Fork, an oil and gas company. By 1948, she was a Laboratory Instructor for Washington University in the Department of Geology. In 1951, she was hired as a research associate in the department to fill the position previously held by her colleague, Betty Nadeau.
Her husband, Leonard, passed away in 1963; at the time, he was Shell's chief engineer in St. Louis.
In January 1997, Echols was diagnosed with lung cancer, which led to her death on February 4, 1997.

## Early life and background

Echols's upbringing in The Bronx and later Brooklyn influenced her personality. Echols displayed a curiosity for the natural world, evident when she expressed her love for minerals at a young age. Her participation in swimming showcased her determination and ability to balance academic and extracurricular pursuits, a trait she carried into her professional life.
Her formative years instilled in her a fascination with the natural world, which set the foundation for her future in geology. Her early interest in minerals hinted at her inclination towards earth sciences. Beyond academics, Echols was an active swimmer, demonstrating discipline and resilience—qualities that would later define her scientific career. Her ability to excel in both scholastic and athletic endeavors foreshadowed her multifaceted talents and ability to navigate the challenges of being a woman in a male-dominated field.

## Contributions to geology

Echols became involved in the petroleum industry from 1938 to 1946, which led her to work on the The Deep Sea Drilling Project. During this time, Echols was one of the few female geologists working in the petroleum industry. The Deep Sea Drilling Project, which gathered information to help determine the age and processes of ocean basins, consulted her as shipboard Sedimentologist. In 1948, Echols explained Wilcox's relationship with the Midway sea through time. Additionally, she discovered that the petroleum deposits were rich in that area due to the surrounding materials (basal sand, shale, etc.) and their interaction. These interactions allowed the petroleum to seep into the sands and become trapped in an impenetrable seal of rock. Much of her career was spent in the field of micropaleontology, specializing in microfossils. Prior to American publication, Echols was published in three Russian publications regarding her discovery of new Paleozoic Ostracode genera and species. These reports reclassified many species discovered in Russia and reclassified previously discovered genera and species. Echols was published in three separate reports in 1952 by Netskaia A. I., Polinova E. N. and Zaspelova V. S. Afterwards, she published an article in the Micropaleontology magazine, titled "Chalk crayons and microfossil contamination" alongside Harold L. Levin, first published on January 1, 1964. In May 1966, Echols discovered that holotypes previously classified as Cephalopoda were structurally incompatible with this classification and should be placed in the Monoplacophora based on cross-sectioning completed on fossils in the area. She found that no specimen collected indicated any structures evident of being classified a Cephalopoda. In 1956, Echols theorized that Ostracod carapaces moved during Fern Glen Formation because of currents moving over shallow areas. In 1961, Echols was involved in the discovery of an extinct species of Trilobite from the Kimmswick Limestone found in Missouri. The project contributed biostratigraphic data about sediments underground, which provided an estimated paleontological age for many unusual sediments. Echols, who worked in the petroleum industry as a geologist and paleontologist studying microfossils, was one of the few female geologists working in that era.
In a 1948 publication co-authored with Doris S. Malkin, 'Wilcox (Eocene) Stratigraphy, a Key to Production,' Echols expanded the understanding of Eocene stratigraphy and its implications for petroleum geology. Their work examined the complex sedimentation patterns and stratigraphic sequences of the Wilcox Group, a geological formation known for its hydrocarbon potential. By interpreting the regional deltaic sedimentation and the stratigraphic history, they highlighted the productive sands in the Wilcox fields that span Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, mapping out trends that informed petroleum production up until 1945.
This research contributed to the academic field and had practical applications, influencing exploration and extraction strategies in the industry. Echols' ability to connect geological understanding with practical outcomes underscored her role in integrating scientific research with industry applications.

## Challenges as a woman in geology

Echols, as one of the few women in geology during the mid-20th century, faced challenges. In an era where the field was predominantly male, her determination and expertise led her to make contributions, particularly in petroleum geology and micropaleontology. Her involvement in projects like the Deep Sea Drilling Project highlighted her skills and resilience in overcoming the gender biases prevalent in her field. Her legacy is seen in her scientific achievements and in paving the way for future generations of female geologists.

## Contribution to the Deep Sea Drilling Project

Echols participated in the The Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP), a scientific endeavor aimed at exploring the composition and structure of the Earth's oceanic crust by drilling and coring deep below the ocean floor. Initiated in 1968, the project provided direct sampling of deep ocean basins, representing a leap forward in oceanography and geology. It offered insights into Earth's geological past, including the history of its oceans, the development of its crust, and the processes that govern plate tectonics.
The project used the drilling vessel Glomar Challenger to recover samples of sediment and basaltic crust from various depths and locations across the world's oceans. These samples were crucial for testing and confirming theories like plate tectonics and sea-floor spreading. The project revealed the age and distribution of oceanic crust and provided evidence for past climate conditions by examining sediment layers.
Echols's role as a sedimentologist and micropaleontologist in this project involved analyzing the recovered cores for microfossil content—which includes the remains of tiny organisms such as foraminifera, diatoms, and coccolithophores. These microfossils are used in dating sediments and reconstructing past environmental conditions, thus aiding in understanding Earth's climatic and geological history.
The DSDP was foundational in establishing the field of paleoceanography—the study of ocean history through geology and paleontology and set the stage for subsequent scientific ocean drilling programs.
Echols's expertise in microfossils—the remains of organisms that lived in past geologic ages—enabled her to contribute to the understanding of how these creatures' distribution and composition could indicate the presence and locations of petroleum reserves. Her insights helped shape the scientific community's understanding of sediment deposition and stratigraphic sequences, which are vital for hydrocarbon exploration.
Her efforts in the Deep Sea Drilling Project also contributed to a broader understanding of paleo-oceanography—the study of the history of the oceans in the geological past, with implications for both scientific research and the petroleum industry. Echols's work on geological research, coupled with her pioneering spirit as one of the few women in her field, left a mark on the sciences of micropaleontology and sedimentology.

## Awards and achievements

Echols was known for her presence on the deep sea drilling project, making her one of the first female geologist working in the petroleum field. Later on she was listed as a noteworthy geological consultant by Marquis who's who.
In 1979, she and her close friend Doris Malkin Curtis, who had also participated in the deep sea drilling project, created a geological consulting firm named 'Curtis and Echols' to help with mapping deposition, which helped locate hydrocarbons.
In 1982, the year she retired, she received the Neil A Miner award from the National association of Geology teachers for her "exceptional contributions to the stimulation of interest in the earth sciences....". Her teaching of graduate and undergraduate courses resulted in her students becoming members of geological professions.
This award is presented annually to recognize contributions to the stimulation of interest in the Earth sciences and for contributions to the fields of geology, geophysics, or earth science education. Receiving the Neil A. Miner Award is a testament to Echols's contributions to earth sciences, through her research and her dedication to teaching future generations of geologists.
The award acknowledged her work in the field and her passion for education, as evidenced by her teaching career at Washington University in St. Louis. Her commitment to advancing the understanding of Earth's geological processes and her role as a mentor to students in geology solidified her reputation in geological education.

## Publications

Echols published many pieces of writing throughout her years studying and teaching geology. Some of her most influential pieces are listed below.
| Year | Publication |
| 1954 | New Paleozoic Ostracode Genera and Species Reported in Three Russian Publications |
| 1958 | Three dimensional graptolites in the Maquoketa shale (Upper Ordovician) of Missouri |
| 1959 | Survey of Mississippian, Pennsylvanian, and Permian Ostracoda recorded in the United States |
| 1964 | Chalk crayons and microfossil contamination |
| 1965 | Precambrian Graphitic Compressions of Possible Biologic Origin from Canada |
| 1967 | Naked Foraminifera from Shallow-Water Environments: ABSTRACT |
| 1967 | Naked foraminifera from shallow water environments |
| 1969 | Some Comparisons of Neogene Microbiostratigraphy in Offshore Louisiana and Blake Plateau: ABSTRACT |
| 1979 | Chronicle of Miocene, Phase III: Middle Miocene Events: ABSTRACT |
| 1981 | Environmental Adaptations of Elphidium subarcticum: ABSTRACT |
| 1985 | "Bolboforma": A Miocene Algae of Possible Biostratigraphic and Paleoclimatic Value |
| 1987 | Prediction of sands in low stand wedges using biostratigraphy, in Innovative biostratigraphic approaches to sequence analysis (with Curtis D.M) |
| 1987 | Applications of geochronology to stratigraphic interpretation and correlation (with Curtis D.M) |
In 1956, Echols took part in writing a journal called the Journal of Paleontology, specifically written in volume 30. She worked with John J. Gouty on Fern Glen (Mississippian) Ostracoda, Bruce L. Stinchcomb on Missouri Upper Cambrian Monoplacophora previously considered cephalopods, and Courtney Werner on Three Dimensional Graptolites in the Maquoketa Shale (Upper Ordovician) of Missouri. The writings in the journal describes the findings of Echols on the trips she took, including animal fossils located in their original habitats and various rock samples. Echols and Gouty, writing about their studies in fern glen (Mississippian) Ostracoda, divided the land into four pieces to allow for deeper research and collection of sedimentary samples containing Ostracods. Echols and Stinchcomb found fossils which were originally believed to belong to breviconic cephalopods, but were determined to actually be Monoplacophora belonging to the genus Hypseloconus. The structure of the fossils seemed to have cone-shaped forms and appeared curved. Echols and Werner published their findings on what they had studied and identified in the Maquoketa shale of Missouri, which were a light brown coloured shale that contained varied fauna, including ostracizes, bryozoans, brachiopods, conodonts, pelecypods and quantities of pieces of unpressed and replaced graptolites that were preserved beneath it. The unpressed graptolites belonged to the genus Climacograptus and possibly the Climacograptus putillus Hall.