DEEPSEA VENTS- Inside Alvin

For scientists investigating the ocean floor, doing their field work means climbing into a submarine and going where few humans have gone before. I’m Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by the American Museum of Natural History.

“The US government owns a deep sea research submersible called the Alvin, which has been in operation since the early 1970s. And it’s the principle vehicle through which both American and other international scientists have observed processes on the ocean floor. And what’s special about the Alvin is that it can go to depths of 4,000 meters, which is very deep.”

Ro Kinzler is a research scientist at the American Museum of Natural History. We’re listening to sounds recorded during one of her dives to the ocean floor inside the Alvin. We’re listening to sounds recorded inside a deep sea submersible called the Alvin.

“Before I went in the Alvin, a scientist who had done a lot of work in the Alvin before told me that it was like doing geology at night with a flashlight. I didn’t really appreciate what that meant until we got down there. Because it’s absolutely true; there’s no light at the bottom. And so the only thing you can see is whatever is illuminated by the light on the submarine. And that’s very limiting. For those of us doing field geology, you do it during the day, you go outside, you see as far as you can see. Another interesting aspect of doing observation from the Alvin is that there’s no scale. There’s nothing that you’re used to seeing which tells you how big whatever you’re looking at is. Unless you can sort of get a view of a piece of the external apparatus of the Alvin and then compare it to what you’re seeing.”

The Alvin has a mechanical arm to collect samples with and even a meter stick to take measurements, but using the arm to hold the stick takes time and time is precious during the dives.

Pulse of the Planet is presented by the American Museum of Natural History. Additional funding for this series has been provided by the National Science Foundation. I’m Jim Metzner.

DEEPSEA VENTS- Inside Alvin

Doing research from aboard the deep sea submersible “Alvin” presents its own set of challenges.
Air Date:08/21/1998
Scientist:
Transcript:

For scientists investigating the ocean floor, doing their field work means climbing into a submarine and going where few humans have gone before. I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by the American Museum of Natural History.

"The US government owns a deep sea research submersible called the Alvin, which has been in operation since the early 1970s. And it's the principle vehicle through which both American and other international scientists have observed processes on the ocean floor. And what's special about the Alvin is that it can go to depths of 4,000 meters, which is very deep."

Ro Kinzler is a research scientist at the American Museum of Natural History. We're listening to sounds recorded during one of her dives to the ocean floor inside the Alvin. We're listening to sounds recorded inside a deep sea submersible called the Alvin.

"Before I went in the Alvin, a scientist who had done a lot of work in the Alvin before told me that it was like doing geology at night with a flashlight. I didn't really appreciate what that meant until we got down there. Because it's absolutely true; there's no light at the bottom. And so the only thing you can see is whatever is illuminated by the light on the submarine. And that's very limiting. For those of us doing field geology, you do it during the day, you go outside, you see as far as you can see. Another interesting aspect of doing observation from the Alvin is that there's no scale. There's nothing that you're used to seeing which tells you how big whatever you're looking at is. Unless you can sort of get a view of a piece of the external apparatus of the Alvin and then compare it to what you're seeing."

The Alvin has a mechanical arm to collect samples with and even a meter stick to take measurements, but using the arm to hold the stick takes time and time is precious during the dives.

Pulse of the Planet is presented by the American Museum of Natural History. Additional funding for this series has been provided by the National Science Foundation. I'm Jim Metzner.