October 29

Listen to the Call to the Deep!

(1) ALASKA
Chugiak High School, Eagle River, Alaska
Teacher: Mark Van Arsdale

Atlantis:
1. Do the prolonged periods of time spent in ALVIN (at depth) have any effects on the crew? If there are any effects, are they similar to the types of effects that scuba divers may experience when staying underwater too long?

Alvin:
2.Does ALVIN leave an environmental "footprint"? Does it have any detrimental effects on the fragile ecosystems that it visits?

(2) DELAWARE
Charter School of Wilmington, Wilmington, Delaware
Teachers: Tom Fleetwood and Conrad Rice

Atlantis:
1. Regarding the technology involved in the mission, does the ship ATLANTIS have a lab that analyzes all the data or is everything stored and taken back to land? Additionally, what technologies does ALVIN have to know what conditions are occurring at the ocean surface?

Alvin:
2. What kind of education and training is required to become a member of your dive team, and what one piece of advice or words of wisdom would you give someone to help them achieve their dreams?

(3) DELAWARE
Skyline Middle School, Wilmington, Delaware
Teacher: Marijke Reilly

Atlantis:
1. Do you ever get seasick when you are on the ship? If so, how do you deal with it if you are out there for 17 days in a row?

Alvin:
2. How do you capture specimens from the ALVIN? How do you get those specimens from the high pressure of the deep ocean to the low pressure of the surface without having the specimens explode?

(4) DELAWARE
Sussex Central High School
Teachers: Lorraine Caputo and Elaine Weil

Atlantis:
1. How does a Big Mac and a large fry sound about now?

Alvin:
2. Can you identify any environmental damage because of pollution buried in the ocean? And does this affect the hydrothermal vents??

(5) HAWAII
Ocean Learning Academy, Honolulu, Hawaii
Teachers: Malia Chow and Soo Boo Tan

Atlantis:
1. If there is a storm or a hurricane or a tsunami while you are at sea, how will it affect you if you are in mid-dive or on the ocean floor, and what would you do?

Alvin:
2. How do sea creatures at the bottom of the ocean behave compared to ones in shallow water -- are they more aggressive/passive? Do they move faster/slower, etc.?

(6) HAWAII
Princess Nahi'ena'ena Elementary School, Lahaina, Maui
Teacher: Liz Foote, Project S.E.A.-Link

Atlantis:
1. How did you find/choose the study site?

Alvin:
2. How are you prepared for an emergency, and what types of hazards and emergencies might there be? How would you respond, and could you escape?

(7) NORTH CAROLINA
Oakwood School, Greenville, North Carolina
Teacher: Nancy Bray

Atlantis:
1.Once ALVIN is deployed from ATLANTIS, two hours seems a long time to go 1.5 miles to the bottom. Why does ALVIN descend and ascend so slowly? Also, the sub seems to be rather cramped for space. Why don't you build a bigger submersible?

Alvin:
2. The animals at the hydrothermal vents seem very colorful. At a place where it is totally dark, what could be the purpose of their coloration? Also, what could account for the tremendous size of the tubeworms?

(8) OHIO
B. L. Miller Elementary School, Sebring, Ohio
Teacher: Vickie Hollingsworth

Atlantis:
1. At what point is it no longer safe for the ATLANTIS to remain at sea, and how do you retrieve ALVIN in an emergency situation?

Alvin:
2. If the styrofoam cups shrink while they travel down in the ALVIN, why can't the scientists feel any change in pressure, or do they, and if so, how bad is it?

(9) OREGON
Azalea Middle School, Brookings, Oregon
Teacher: Maggie Prevenas

Atlantis:
1. What do the scientists on ATLANTIS do while ALVIN is in the water?

Alvin:
2. Can you feel the temperature change in the water as you get near the vents?

(10) PENNSYLVANIA
Springfield Township High School, Oreland, Pennsylvania
Teacher: Murrell F. Dobbins

Atlantis:
1. We assume that you are recycling all paper, metals, and plastics used onboard ATLANTIS during this expedition. Is it true that you will be bringing all these materials back to the States for recycling?

Alvin:
2. Are the species found so far off of Costa Rica identical to those found off Mexico?