Karcher, J. C.

Karcher, J. C. (John Clarence) (1894–1978) geophysicist; born in Dale, Ind. He worked in several geophysical research companies before founding the Dallas oil firms, Comanche Corporation (1945–50), and Concho Petroleum Company (1950). He conceived and developed the principle of reflection seismography, a technique of locating structures more than five miles below the earth's surface, using seismic instruments to measure reflection of dynamite-induced shock waves. First used in Oklahoma to reveal oil deposits (1928), Karcher's method revolutionized the natural gas and petroleum industries.