Alvin, the country's only deep-diving research submersible capable of carrying humans to the sea floor, reached another milestone in its long career on November 25, 2018, when the sub made its 5,000th dive during an expedition to the Guaymas Basin in the Gulf of California.
Officially commissioned June 5, 1964, the Navy-owned and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)-operated sub has been through a series of upgrades and advances that have completely re-made the vehicle and vastly expanded its capabilities. As a result, Alvin has remained at the forefront of ocean science and exploration for over 50 years.
On a 1977 expedition, scientists using Alvin made an astounding discovery—jets of hot, chemical-rich fluids flowing from the seafloor. With the discovery of these hydrothermal vents, Alvin enabled scientists to solve a puzzling riddle about heat flow from the planet’s crust into the ocean. It also gave them their first look at communities of deep-sea organisms where they previously thought little—if any—life existed. Out of the reach of sunlight, the communities were not fueled via photosynthesis, but rather by chemosynthesis, utilizing the chemicals flowing from the seafloor.
“Alvin revolutionized our understanding of the extremes that life can tolerate and caused us to re-think the origin of life on our planet,” says Adam Soule, Chief Scientist for the National Deep Submergence Facility (NDSF), which operates the sub and other underwater vehicles, such as the remotely operated vehicle Jason, for the entire oceanographic community. “The sub also continues to expand our knowledge of where and how life might exist on other planets.”
The human-occupied submersible Alvin departs the research vessel Atlantis to begin its 500-th dive on November 25th, 2018. Photo by Drew Bewely, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Alvin has had many milestones over the decades, including aiding in the recovery of a lost hydrogen bomb, exploring the wreck of the RMS Titanic, and examining impacts to deep-sea coral communities in the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Alvin, which is supported by funding from the National Science Foundation, is one of only five deep-sea research submersibles in the world. The workhorse sub executes about 100 dives per year, and over its life has accounted for more than half of all of the scientific dives carried out by human-occupied submersibles worldwide. Scientists and students from colleges, universities, and research organizations around the country regularly use Alvin and the NDSF for a variety of scientific and ocean engineering studies that benefit from a human presence in the ocean and on the seafloor.
Photo by Luis Lamar, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Currently, Alvin reaches a depth of 4,500 meters (15,000 feet), which gives researchers in-person access—on dives lasting up to ten hours—to about two-thirds of the ocean floor. The sub will soon complete the final phase of its current upgrade, which will enable Alvin to dive to 6,500 meters (21,000 feet), putting 98 percent of the seafloor within its reach.
“Alvin helped inspire the development of new generations of deep-submergence technology and vehicles,” says Andy Bowen, Director of the National Deep Submergence Facility at WHOI. “And it continues to inspire generations of future scientists, engineers, and explorers.”
BP Makes Gulf of Mexico Environmental Da
Deep-Diving Sub Alvin Cleared to Return
OceanGate Inc. Transforms Lula 500-meter
New Cygnus DIVE with AMOLED Display
UTEC Makes Key Addition to UK Team
New 3D Atlas Makes Trace Metals in the O
Newly Upgraded Alvin Sub Passes Scientif
Unique System FZE Announces the Launch o
Study Makes Storm Surge Predictions at L
iXBlue GAPS makes its mark in Mexico
US Army Corps Makes Good Progress on Mia
Triton Submarines to Introduce Lightweig
October - Squeezing More Bandwidth into
N-sea invests £1.5m in New Dive Support
M Subs Ltd launches Prototype Submersibl
New Submersible Logger for Turner Design
Viper Subsea Jip Partner Makes Early Com
Aqueos Corporation Takes Delivery of Pur
Robots to Identify what Makes the Indian
Underwater Metal Detecting Makes Every D
CONTROP Makes Waves with the iSea Family
Underwater Rudder Repair in Rotterdam wi
Submergence Group Completes Sea Trials a
New Dolphin Makes a Splash at Oceanology
Police and Dive Companies Find Many Uses
JFD Orders Caley Ultra-Compact, Road Tra
Oceangate Conducts the First Submersible
Jiaolong Submersible Returns with Findin
Artificial Reef Society of British Colum
China's New Submersible Mother Ship Comp
Around the Pier: Scripps Alumnae Dive De
Archaeologists Dive into History
Wave Energy Researchers Dive Deep to Adv
Statoil Makes New Oil & Gas Discovery Ne
Saab Seaeye Makes Falcon Even Smarter wi
Statoil Makes New Gas Discovery at Valem
STR Invest in 106G Series Submersible GP
Hydro Group Makes Sunday Times Table for
Autosub Long Range Prepares to Dive into
OceanGate to Make First Titanic Manned S
Aquatica Submersible Routine Dive Discov
ENVIROTEK Makes Tidal Instream Energy a
IMCA Makes North America Appointment
Unique Group Successfully Delivers Zone
Deeper Towing Easy with DDW-1 Deep Dive
Imaginative Dive Works Wins Big Savings
FSU Researcher Makes Deep-Sea Coral Reef
Statoil and Partners Makes Second Small
EIVA Makes Cable Telemetry Technology Av
ExxonMobil Makes 5th Discovery Offshore
Ocean Supporters and Scripps Scientists
5000+ Meter Dive with Six HUGIN AUVs Ope
MBARI Submersible Doc Ricketts Makes One
Marine-i Makes Its First Grant Award to
Chevron Makes Significant Oil Discovery
CSA Strengthens HSSE and Dive Safety Man
OceanGate Launches 5-Man Submersible Tit
Rotech’s Trs1-Ld Shallow Water Excavator
iSURVEY Makes Training Splash
RockSalt Subsea Dive into Energy Central
The Edge of Darkness: WHOI Researchers t
OceanGate and iXblue in First Manned Sub
Iridium Makes Maritime Industry History
ION Makes Second Sale of Compasses for S
Sea Grant Publication Describes Advantag
Hydrex Makes Light of Complicated Underw
Alvin Makes an Exciting Coral Discovery
Freeze Fighter: Warmer Wetsuit Will Incr
Sailors Dive Into National Aquarium Exhi
The World’s Deepest Diving Independently
OERA Portal Makes A Decade of Tidal Ener
Kongsberg Digital Makes the Kognifai Par
Explorer Reaches the Deepest Point in th
McKay Makes Waves in New Zealand’s Marin
Manned Submersible Electrical Penetrator
Five Deeps Expedition Embarks on Second
Ocean News & Technology is a publication of TSC
7897 SW Jack James Drive
Suite A, Stuart, FL 34997
(772)-221-7720