October 26

Listen to the Call to the Deep!

(1) ARIZONA
Cross Middle School, Tucson, Arizona
Teacher: Laura Crosby

Atlantis:
1. We noticed that there is a machine that calculates the number of viruses detected in the specimen. Do you take any precautions and are you at all concerned about finding a virus that is lethal to humans, much like the Ebola virus found in the depths of the rainforest?

Alvin:
2. In the video there was the statement that you would be bringing back specimens to study for the next 2 years. Are you planning on capturing actual animals? How difficult is that with the claw-like arms and how do they stay alive at surface where the pressure is considerably less than what they are used to?

(2) COLORADO
Thornton High School, Thornton, Colorado
Teacher: Joe Beydler

Atlantis:
1.Why was the "old" Atlantis replaced, and is it still in use, and if so, for what?

Alvin:
2. What is the scariest, and/or most unusual thing you have seen while diving in the Alvin?

(3) DELAWARE
Christiana High School, Newark, Delaware
Teacher: Kevin Conley

Atlantis:
1.What is the most difficult part of the mission (living conditions)?

Alvin:
2. How deep can Alvin go? What limits it?

(4) DELAWARE
Talley Middle School, Wilmington, Delaware
Teacher: Hepsi Zsoldos

Atlantis:
1.Why is it so important to study hydrothermal vents and deep-sea organisms?

Alvin:
2.What does it feel like to be one of the only people in the world to see these environments firsthand?

(5) DELAWARE
Woodbridge High School, Bridgeville, Delaware
Teacher: Helen Gieske

Atlantis:
1. How many people are on the research ship and what are their jobs?

Alvin:
2. How do you know when you are at the exact coordinates for the dive and that the submersible will land at the appropriate spot?

(6) FLORIDA
Maritime Magnet High School/South Broward High School, Hollywood, Florida
Teachers: Ted Davis, Sharon Thomas, Leigh Floyd

Atlantis:
1. If something were to go wrong on Alvin during a dive, what type of equipment on the R/V Atlantis would be used to help rescue the operation?

Alvin:
2. Can any of the animals (found associated with the hydrothermal vent community) be brought up to the surface and kept alive?

(7) MASSACHUSETTS
South Boston High School, South Boston, Massachusetts
Teacher: Carl Johnson

Atlantis:
1. Are the animals and bacteria found at the Atlantic dive sites and the Pacific dive sites the same?

Alvin:
2. What physically happens to organisms at 176°F or 80°C that causes death in most organisms? What are you looking at in the Pompeii worm that could answer this question?

(8) MICHIGAN
Kinawa Middle School, Okemos, Michigan
Teacher: Agnes Drzal

Atlantis:
1.What education do you need to become a marine biologist aboard the research vessel?

Alvin:
2. When there is so much pressure on Alvin, how do you maintain air pressure and not get the "bends" during your trip to the surface?

(9) MISSOURI
Poplar Bluff Junior High School, Poplar Bluff, Missouri
Teacher: Tom Allen

Atlantis:
1. What kind of preparations do you have to do on the ship to get ready to launch Alvin?

Alvin:
2. Can any of the organisms found around the vent site survive in shallower depths?

(10) WASHINGTON
Kulshan Middle School, Bellingham, Washington
Teacher: Nicole Brown

Atlantis:
1. What is the technology involved to make this phone call work?

Alvin:
2. In your experience aboard Alvin, what was the most dangerous event?