Seismographs were rare until both Russia and the USA started using them to monitor underground nuclear tests. Previously, seismographs were used to study and attempt to predict local earthquakes. Vastly increased numbers of seismographs and analytical computers soon led to the theory of Plate Techtonics/Continental Drift.
All branches of oceanography benefitted from increased funding during the Cold War. Sedimentary soil samples from the Black Sea confirmed the biblical story of Noah's Flood and helped climatologists understand the bigger picture of climate change, ice ages, volcanic eruptions, cycles of feast and famine, etc. Funny how the Russian Navy did not welcome NATO oceanographic ships into the Black Sea??????