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Check out these videos
and photos,
which have been transmitted to the
University of Delaware from the R/V Atlantis
through the efforts of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Be sure to also visit Woods Hole’s Dive
and Discover Web site.
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| A pink, spiny spider crab,
similar to the two that have already been sampled, looks
warily at Alvin’s manipulator as it takes
a push core. This crab was not collected. |
Sampling hot, 300°C hydrothermal
fluid from Rebecca’s Roost vent in the Guaymas
Basin’s southern trough. The bottle is made from
titanium, so it is very strong and does not react with
the hot corrosive fluids coming out of the vent. Chemists
take the samples and analyze the fluid to determine
its chemical composition. |
A view of the bacterial mats
at Kristin’s Summit vent showing the marker left
for future cruises and the placement of Josh Simpson’s
“planets” in a blanket of bacteria surrounded
by tubeworms. |
Today’s
Photo Gallery
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A beautiful sunrise over a flat, calm sea was the
setting for the launch of Alvin for its final
dive of the cruise.
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Alvin is launched just as the sun is rising
at about 07:00 hours — an early start so that
we can get into Manzanillo on time.
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Some of the styrofoam coffee cups that have been “shrunk”
by going down to the bottom of the ocean on Alvin.
The last dive always has an extra-full cargo of these
cups. A few hundred cups are “shrunk” on
every Alvin cruise.
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One of Josh Simpson's “planets” that was
taken down to the seafloor on today’s dive, Alvin
3523. It is sitting on a bathymetric map that shows
the depth of the Guaymas Basin where it will reside.
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The “planet” sitting on the biobox in Alvin’s
basket waiting to be secured for the trip down to
the seafloor. In the background, there are sediment
corers and the Analytical Instrument Systems, Inc.
(AIS) electrochemical analyzer.
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The crew of R/V Atlantis use a grappling hook
to retrieve one of the acoustic transponders that
Alvin uses to navigate when on the seafloor.
These beeper devices were put down at the beginning
of the cruise, and once all the dives are finished,
an acoustic signal is sent down to them, they release
their anchors, and then float up to the surface, where
they can be collected.
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Alvin’s manipulator collects fluids in
a gas-tight sampler from the hot water trapped under
a ledge (or flange). Tubeworms are growing on the
top of the sulfide ledge.
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The final recovery of Alvin was made in mirror-like
seas — a perfect end to an exciting dive series.
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A fiery red sunset over Baja California as we head
for Manzanillo, Mexico.
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