Alvin Science Verification Cruise
HOV Alvin March 2014
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Archive for Ergonomics

In the Ball

Posted by Lonny Lippsett and Chris Linder 
· Monday, March 24th, 2014 
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Scientist Chris German (WHOI) and Kang Ding (University of Minnesota) take in the view from Alvin’s two new forward-looking viewports on either side of the pilot’s station. (Photo by Bruce Strickrott, WHOI; Courtesy of Peter Girguis, chief scientist, Harvard; Funding agencies: NSF, ONR, NOAA; ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Alvin Expedition Leader Bruce Strickrott demonstrates how he can stand up in the upgraded Alvin’s new larger 6.5-foot-diameter sphere, something he could never do in the old sub’s 6-foot-diameter sphere. (Photo by Kang Ding, University of Minnesota; Courtesy of Peter Girguis, chief scientist, Harvard; Funding agencies: NSF, ONR, NOAA; ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Alvin’s new sphere has padded benches and 18 percent more volume than its predecessor, adding a bit of comfort to a cramped space. On the way back to the surface, WHOI scientist Chris German makes notes. (Photo by Kang Ding, University of Minnesota; Courtesy of Peter Girguis, chief scientist, Harvard; Funding agencies: NSF, ONR, NOAA; ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
The new Alvin is also equipped with new digital controls that allow pilots to automatically, rather than manually, maintain altitude from the seafloor, speed, or a position. (Photo by Kang Ding, University of Minnesota; Courtesy of Peter Girguis, chief scientist, Harvard; Funding agencies: NSF, ONR, NOAA; ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Pilot Bob Waters, right, and University of Delaware chemist George Luther in Alvin’s new sphere, whose titanium hull is thicker than the old hull to someday extend the sub’s depth range to 6,500 meters. (Photo by Amanda Demopoulos, U.S. Geological Survey; Courtesy of Peter Girguis, chief scientist, Harvard; Funding agencies: NSF, ONR, NOAA; ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Pat Hickey, who has made more than 600 dives in Alvin, instructs Chris Lathan, an Alvin pilot-in-training. (Photo by Adam Soule, WHOI; Courtesy of Peter Girguis, chief scientist, Harvard; Funding agencies: NSF, ONR, NOAA; ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Tubeworms clusters around a crack on the Florida Escarpment, where chemical-rich groundwater seeps out into the sea. Symbiotic microbes inside the worms harvest energy from the chemicals and provide nourishment for the worms. (Photo by Adam Soule, WHOI; Courtesy of Peter Girguis, chief scientist, Harvard; Funding agencies: NSF, ONR, NOAA; ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Harvard University scientist Peter Girguis used Alvin’s manipulator arm to place a memorial plaque on the seafloor for Victoria Bertics, a former graduate student. (Photo by Peter Girguis, Harvard University; Courtesy of Peter Girguis, chief scientist, Harvard; Funding agencies: NSF, ONR, NOAA; ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

A slideshow of photos taken inside Alvin’s personnel sphere, nicknamed “the ball.”

Riding in Style

Posted by Lonny Lippsett 
· Thursday, March 20th, 2014 
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The A-frame at the stern of the research vessel Atlantis positions Alvin to be lowered into the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday morning. (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Atlantis chief mate Peter Leonard leaps off Alvin carrying a safety line back to a small boat dispatched from Atlantis. Leonard and Shipboard Scientific Services Group technician Allison Heater were Wednesday's "swimmers," who play important roles in launching and recovering the sub. (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
SSSG technician Allison Heater swims back to Atlantis' small boat after assisting in Wednesday's launch. She holds a sound-phone used to talk with Alvin's pilot inside the sealed personnel sphere, keeping it above water so it won't get wet. (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Able-bodied seaman Raul Martinez swims toward Alvin during Wednesday's recovery. (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Ordinary seaman Ronnie Whims drives the small boat with able-bodied seaman Patrick Neumann aboard to retrieve the line to secure the sub to Atlantis. (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Amanda Demopoulos, a biologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, and University of Delaware chemist George Luther were the scientists who dove in Alvin Wednesday with Pilot Bob Waters. (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
George Luther (left) of the University of Delaware and Don Nuzzio of Analytical Instrument Systems prepare their instrument on Alvin's payload basket the evening before a dive. (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Expedition chief scientist Peter Girguis and Jennifer Delaney of Harvard University extract the viscera of a deep-sea clam collected by Alvin Wednesday. A preserved sample will be sent to the Ocean Genome Legacy, which aims to archive the DNA of every marine species and make the data available to scientists. (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Two more veteran deep-sea scientists took their turn Wednesday to test-drive the upgraded Alvin. They came on this expedition to assess the sub’s new capabilities, find faults to be fixed, and report to their scientific peers. In a way, they were perfectly willing human guinea pigs. As much as they were testing Alvin, the sub was being tested on them. Read More →

We’ve Got a Good Sub

Posted by Lonny Lippsett 
· Tuesday, March 18th, 2014 
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Swimmers Raul Martinez (front) and Mike Skowronski battled rough seas while attaching the lift line to Alvin during recovery to the research vessel Atlantis Monday. (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Engineer Rick Sanger of the Alvin Operations Group waits for scientists and pilot to emerge after Monday’s dive in the Gulf of Mexico. (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Back on deck after his dive to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientist Chris German is surrounded by eager scientists (and one journalist) as he describes what he saw and how the sub performed. (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Alvin Pilot Bruce Strickrott grabs a cup of coffee after his dive Monday and discusses how it went with the expedition’s chief scientist, Peter Girguis of Harvard University. (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Alvin pilot Bruce Strickrott tested the the sub's newly reconfigured manipulator arms by collecting a rock for California Institute of Technology graduate student Jeff Marlow, who split it open to find it full of organisms. (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Tan Chunyang, an engineer from the University of Minnesota, was all smiles as he retrieved his lab’s instrument, which was successfully used on Monday’s Alvin dive. (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Shortly after Monday’s dive, Alvin pilot Bob Waters was already hard at work preparing the sub for the next dive. (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
University of Delaware scientist George Luther (back) and UD graduate student Dan Macdonald prepare an instrument from their lab for Tuesday's dive. (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

You’ve been driving the same car for two decades, then somebody hands you the keys to a 2014 version of the same model. The brand-new car has automatic controls you’ve never seen before, a stiffer ride that takes the curves tighter, and a larger interior that’s more comfortable, but still takes some getting used to. That’s what it’s like in the new Alvin.

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About

From March 14 to 26, Peter Girguis, chair of DESSC (DEep Submergence Science Committee), will lead a group of scientists, including many veteran Alvin divers, from a host of research institutions to “road-test” the new vehicle on an expedition in the Gulf of Mexico. More »

More about

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Participating Organizations

National Science Foundation
Office of Naval Research
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
   Administration
University-National Oceanographic
   Laboratory System
National Deep Submergence Facility
DEep Submergence Science Committee
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Categories

Adam Soule Amanda Demopoulos Bruce Strickrott Chris German Chris Linder Cindy van Dover Cold seeps Control systems Corals DESSC Dive plan Electronics Ergonomics Florida Escarpment Galapagos General George Luther Heather Olins History Hydrothermal vents Jefferson Grau Jonathan Howland Kang Ding Launch Life support system Lighting & imaging Lost City Manipulator arms MC036 NDSF Pat Hickey Personnel sphere Peter Girguis Pilots Sample basket Scott McCue Students Susan Humphris Thrusters Upgrade Verification cruise Video Feature Viewports VK862 Weather
Alvin Science Verification Cruise
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