Posts by Ken Kostel
A Conversation with Dr. Anna Michel
WHOI engineer and chief scientist of the National Deep Submergence Facility, Anna Michel, stands in front of Alvin. (Photo by Marley Parker, ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) Dr. Anna Michel became Chief Scientist of the National Deep Submergence Facility in 2021. This is her first expedition with Alvin. For folks who aren’t familiar with the…
Read MorePicking up pieces of tectonic plates
WHOI geochemist Frieder Klein uses a rock saw to slice through one of the rock samples collected from the edge of the North American continental plate during his Alvin dive. (Photo by Marley Parker, ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) In the ship’s Wet Lab, Ken Rubin holds a chunk of rock that Frieder Klein has just…
Read MoreComiclog: Rosa León-Zayas
Click image for larger view. Willamette University environmental microbiologist Rosa León-Zayas describes her path, from a young girl living in a small town in Puerto Rico who first dreamed of being a surgeon, to a graduate student building a new community around her. Read her full interview at IWasAKid.com.
Read MoreReaching extreme depths with DAP
The R/V Atlantis deck team successfully recovers the Deep Sea Autonomous Profiler (DAP) on the evening of Thursday, July 28th, 2022. (Photo by Marley Parker, ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) On the back deck of R/V Atlantis, several members of the science team don work vests and hard hats and peer over the starboard rail. A…
Read MoreHunting for deep-ocean plastics
Erin Garza processes a plastic sample collected from the Puerto Rico Trench. (Photo by Marley Parker, ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) As the Alvin Team runs through their pre-dive checklist, Erin Garza and Erik Cordes pose for a quick photo on the aft deck. It’s just after 6am, but they both look eager to get the…
Read MoreWelcome to the revolution
Leer en Español Dr. Rosa León Zayas exits Alvin with a big smile after completing the first science dive to abyssal depths in the Puerto Rico Trench. (Photo by Marley Parker, ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) After breakfast, chief scientist Adam Soule and Rosa León Zayas sit together in the ship’s main lab, talking about their…
Read MoreBienvenidos a la revolución
Read in English León Zayas emerge de Alvin después de bucear a 6.055 metros de profundidad en la Trinchera de Puerto Rico. (Por Marley Parker, ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) Después del desayuno, el científico principal Adam Soule y Rosa León Zayas se sientan juntos en el laboratorio principal del barco y hablan sobre sus planes…
Read MoreComiclog: Verifying what?
What’s Alvin going to do with that 6500 certification? It’s bringing people to so much more of the seafloor-and bringing back samples so we can learn more about the ocean and our planet. Here’s artist-at-sea Karen Romano Young’s comic log post taking a look at the business end of Alvin, it’s science payload.
Read MoreIt’s official!
A team at NAVSEA headquarters stands beneath a replica of Alvin as it appeared in the late-1970s. From left to right: Kim Tran (SEA 05), Chip Tucker (SEA 05), Van Lien (SEA 05), Kurt Crake (SEA 05), Mike Breslin (Executive Director PEO-SSN), Brian Pelletier (PMS394), Kip Grantham (PMS394), Emily Donowick (SEA05), Jae-Yoo Ko (SEA 07Q),…
Read MoreBack to our regularly scheduled science
Bruce Strickrott smiles as Chief Scientist Adam Soule signs the final pre-dive check sheet for the first science dive since Alvin received its 6,500 meter certification. Marley Parker Ⓒ Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution A warm Caribbean breeze bounces around the bow of the R/V Atlantis as we sail away from the port of San Juan.…
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