NDSF just published the first edition of a quarterly newsletter for the deep-submergence community to share regular updates about the Facility’s people, projects, and vehicles.
We’ll feature updates from the Alvin, Jason and Sentry Teams, as well as news articles, original stories, expedition photos (we’d love to include yours!), and more.
Follow Jason and Sentry down the U.S. East Coast on the Seep Animal Larval Transport project aboard research vessel Thomas G. Thompson as they travel down the U.S. East Coast and into the Gulf of Mexico. Check out posts featuring Jason and Sentry and their teams.
A multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional team traveled to the East Pacific Rise at 9°50’N in April 2021 to better understand the geophysical, chemical and biological connections at the hydrothermal vent fields there in advance of a seafloor eruption expected to occur in the near future. The remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Jason carried instruments and experiments to the seafloor and brought physical samples and high-quality images back to the surface throughout the 45-day expedition on the research vessel Roger Revelle in April 2021.
Watch a recording of the livestream of Jason working at the East Pacific Rise.
Jason traversing volcanic seafloor near 9° 50’N at 2500 meters below the surface
Jason sampling vents and volcanic seafloor
Jason preparing to measure the temperature at a hydrothermal vent
Jason deploying a self-recording, fluid temperature sensor near 9° 47’N at 2510-meter depth
David Valentine/U.C. Santa Barbara/RV Jason
Images, samples, and sidescan of several corroded barrels on the sea floor off the coast of California captured by ROV Jason and AUV Sentry in 2011 helped UC Santa Barbara scientist David Valentine uncover a massive and largely forgotten chemical waste dump on the seafloor near Los Angeles. Read the whole story in the New York Times.
Drew Bewley inside the birdcage—a frame that holds all of the electrical equipment that goes inside Alvin’s personnel sphere. This setup allows the engineers to test equipment while the sub is disassembled. (Image Credit: Daniel Hentz © WHOI)
An Alvin pilot and electrical section leader on flying a sub he helped design. Read the full interview with Drew here.
A 3D rendering of the East Pacific Rise developed with seafloor bathymetry data collected in 2018-2019 by Dan Fornari, WHOI, and collaborators Ross Parnell-Turner and Jyun-Nai Wu, SIO, using the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Sentry. (Image Credit: Dan Fornari, WHOI)
Scientists hurry to map the seafloor with Sentry before the next volcanic eruption on the East Pacific Rise.
Listen to Alvin Program Manager Bruce Strickrott explain how Alvin stays in one piece under the enormous pressure of the ocean.
Listen to Adam Soule talking about HOV Alvin–it’s storied history and promising future on this podcast from Physics World. The Alvin portion begins at 18:20.
An Alvin pilot and mechanical section leader on building a sub with his own hands. Read the whole interview here.
WIRED Magazine interviews Alvin Group Manager Bruce Strickrott and Chief Scientist for Deep Submergence Adam Soule about the 6,500 meter overhaul.