The sub's most famous exploits include locating a lost hydrogen bomb in the Mediterranean Sea in 1966, exploring the first known hydrothermal vent sites in the 1970s, and surveying the wreck of RMS Titanic in 1986. Alvin carries two scientists and a pilot as deep as 4,500 meters (about three miles) and each dive lasts six to ten hours. Using six reversible thrusters, Alvin can hover, maneuver in rugged topography, or rest on the sea floor. Diving and surfacing is done by simple gravity and buoyancy—water ballast and expendable steel weights sink the sub, and that extra weight is dropped when the researchers need to rise back up to the surface. The sub is equipped with still and video cameras, and scientists can also view the environment through three 30-centimeter (12-inch) viewports. Because there is no light in the deep, the submersible must carry quartz iodide and metal halide lights to illuminate the seafloor. Alvin has two robotic arms that can manipulate instruments, and its basket can carry up to 680 kilograms (1,500 pounds) of tools and seafloor samples. Though it is the world’s oldest research submersible, Alvin remains state-of-the-art due to numerous reconstructions made over the years. (For instance, a new robotic arm was installed in 2006.) The sub is completely disassembled every three to five years so engineers can inspect every last bolt, filter, pump, valve, circuit, tube, wire, light, and battery—all of which have been replaced at least once in the sub’s lifetime. The sub is named for Allyn Vine, a WHOI engineer and geophysicist who helped pioneer deep submergence research and technology. Interactive Alvin Tour
Interactive AlvinThe deep diving submersible Alvin helped to turn a sunless, freezing marine world into a new frontier. More than 4,000 dives to the seafloor have allowed scientists to discover undersea volcanoes, deep-sea minerals, and hundreds of previously unknown organisms. Learn more about the vehicle in this interactive feature. (Requires Adobe Flash Player) Related Multimedia
HOV AlvinView a slideshow on Alvin. 
NBC "Today Show" host Ann Curry Goes to the Bottom of the SeaOn October 18, 2008, NBC "Today Show" host Anne Curry joined WHOI researcher Jeff Seewald and Alvin pilot Bruce Strickrott for a National Science Foundation-funded dive to study microbes in the Guaymas Basin. » Visit Website 
Alvin Disassembly MovieTime-lapse movie of the disassembly of Alvin during the 2005 overhaul. » View Video (Quicktime) » View Video (Media Player) 
From the Seafloor to the Space StationHe is two miles under water; she is 200 miles up in the atmosphere. Watch and listen to a phone call recorded on January 26, 2007 between biologist Tim Shank in Alvin and astronaut Suni Williams in the International Space Station. » View Video (Quicktime) » View Video (Media Player) Related Oceanus Magazine Stories
November 10, 2008Building the Next-Generation Alvin Submersible A two-phase plan to replace the stalwart Alvin research sub provides more room, power, maneuverability, and better views by 2010, with the option to dive past its current 4,500-meter limit all the way to 6,500 meters deep by around 2015. Source: Oceanus Magazine 
August 3, 2005Alvin's Pilots A tight-knit group with the 'right stuff' to guide a submersible on the seafloor Source: Oceanus Magazine 
August 3, 2005'Ever Get Scared in the Sub?' and Other Questions Some 75 space shuttle pilots have flown missions, but since 1965, the job of driving Alvin has gone to just 34 men and one woman. Mechanically minded and adventurous, Alvin pilots are the equivalent of the oceans’ astronauts. Source: Oceanus Magazine 
August 3, 2005What Is the Alvin Training Program Like? A conversation with former Alvin pilot Anthony Tarantino Source: Oceanus Magazine 
August 3, 2005Life After Alvin You can't keep former Alvin pilots down on the farm, once they've seen the seafloor. Source: Oceanus Magazine 
June 28, 2005On the Seafloor, a Parade of Roses A third generation of scientists finds the third generation of hydrothermal vent sites. Source: Oceanus Magazine 
April 27, 2006Lurking Benignly on the Seafloor, the ‘Yeti’ Crab is Discovered Kiwa hirsuta is alien (to most), adorable (to some)—and apparently not abominable. Source: Oceanus Magazine 
February 16, 2007Would a Hagfish By Any Other Name Smell as Sweet? Bruce Strickrott joins a unique guild: pilots of the deep-sea submersible Alvin whose surnames are now intertwined with species of jellyfish, worms, nematodes, and slugs. Source: Oceanus Magazine Last updated: April 14, 2009 | |||||||||||||||||
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