Seaching Deeper

This article presents the history of Alvin, the first US-built, manned deep-ocean submersible. The 42-year-old submersible, which is operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute is heading toward retirement. According to one of the expert, Alvin had one of its periodic overhauls recently; however, the craft cannot be upgraded to do much more than it does now. In its lifetime, the little submersible has located a lost hydrogen bomb in the Mediterranean Sea, explored deep-sea hydrothermal vents, surveyed and helped photograph the Titanic, and accidently gave scientists vital feedback about decay in the deep. Alvin has made more than 4000 dives. On a 1977 expedition, researchers aboard Alvin near the Galapagos Islands explored vents emitting superheated water at depths of 7000 feet. The lunches that spent the months in Alvin's hold remained strangely intact, including a barely decomposed bologna sandwich. This led researchers to the discovery that matter decomposed differently in the deep, which in turn gave conservationists arguments against dumping waste in the sea.