Alvin
Although the U.S. Navy had
invested considerable money and resources in the development of the
Trieste II, there was dissent within the Navy about the importance of
exploring the deep and costs involved. One frustrated Naval expert who
was on the side of progress and wanted to see continued expeditions
to the deep, was Charles Momsen Jr., Chief of Undersea Warfare at the
Office of Naval Research. He eventually convinced the U.S. Naval Offices
to commission a highly 
maneuverable
deep submergence vehicle (DSV) that would be capable of mounting undersea
rescue missions in the event of another devastating submarine disaster,
such as the sinking of the famous Thresher. Momsen worked closely with
Al Vine of the Woodshole Oceanographic Institute in Cape Cod. In deference
to him, the DSV that was developed out of the U.S. Navy and WHOI partnership
came to be called Alvin, a contraction of the name Al Vine, and the
name has stuck even today.
The Alvin DSV was a streamlined marvel
of modern technology that it still in use today. Alvin is not only highly
maneuverable, but it also has many adaptations included especially for
scientific observation and collection of data and samples. The crew
cabin is large enough to fit three people, although two is the usual
number. There are several viewing ports (windows), external strobe lights
with still and video cameras, as well as remote manipulator arms that
can be guided by observers to collect samples and secure them in an
exterior basket to bring to the surface. The Alvin is one of a fleet
of DSVs that have been developed to explore, catalog, observe and study
the deep. Although it was commissioned by the U.S. Navy, it performs
primarily as a scientific vessel. Alvin has logged over 3,600 dives
into the ocean for over 25,000 hours to an average depth of 2,060 meters.
More than 70% of the diving that Alvin has done has been to make scientific
observations and measurements in geology, geophysics, and biology.
Read about some of the other ways
scientists explore the deep sea...
Trawling | Remote
Cameras (ROVs) | Autonomous Underwater Vehicles
(AUVs)
