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Bruce Strickrott
Alvin Pilot |
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Is there anything specific that you would like to see improved on the submersible Alvin? Student
Name: Mrs. Deitche's 1st Period Class
State: FL Country: USA
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What speed does the submarine go when it travels down to the ocean floor? Student
Name: Nick
State: OR Country: USA
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On the way down Alvin normally accelerates to about 30 meters per minute vertically. On the bottom we normally don't go much faster than two knots, and that's when we're in a hurry. |
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My name is Daniel; I am a junior at Bayside High school taking Oceanography. The sub Alvin and some of the missions it has performed have always fascinated me. I have a few questions concerning the sub. Is this the Alvin Robert Ballard used to discover the Titanic and Bismarck? If so, how did you guys get the submarine, is it on lease or did he give it to you? Another question I have is your Web site shows the design for a new Alvin, would your expedition be receiving this new submarine to replace the old Alvin? I would like to thank you for your time and wish you the best of luck on the rest of your expedition. Student
Name: Daniel
State: VA Country: USA
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Hey Daniel, We're using a modification of the Alvin that Robert Ballard used. The submarine is owned by the Navy and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The sub these days is typically used for science investigations in mostly the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. They don't expect that the new sub will be on-line until 2008. When it is ready, then it will replace the current one, and scientists in the US will be able to use it for their deep-sea projects. |
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How thick is the glass on Alvin? Student
Name: Jessica
State: ID Country: USA
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Alvin actually has no glass per se. What we do have is acrylic (plastic) viewports that are shaped to match the receptacles in the hull. Both are cone shaped and at the maximum thickness are approximately three and a half inches thick. |
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Have you ever seen the Giant Squid? Student
Name: Garret
State: ID Country: USA
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Has Alvin ever explored the Mariana Trench? Student
Name: Kurran
State: ID Country: USA
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Alvin cannot dive as deep as the bottom of the Marianas Trench and has never been there. The Trieste, a specialized type of submersible, went to the bottom of the trench in the 1960s. |
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How many people are on the ship with you? Student
Name: Ashley
State: ID Country: USA
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Our normal full complement of crew, science and Alvin group is about 53 people. |
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What do you miss the most about the comforts of home? Are there any luxuries on the R/V Atlantis? Student
Name: Harriet
State: CT Country: USA
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A great question. I have no official 'home' and have been living on the go since I started working for Woods Hole in 1996. Mostly I've been traveling and staying with friends for short periods of time. During the two major overhauls in the past eight years I shared housing with a few of the other guys. I plan to purchase a home next year, hopefully near a ski area and with a small amount of acreage. There are many things I miss about life on land, mostly having the time to be with my friends and my family. I don't miss the day to day 'grind' or the endless stream of news and info-tainment. I do miss the opportunity to have a dog as they're not allowed on the ships. As far as luxuries go, Atlantis is a practical ship without a lot of frill. By far the biggest luxury on board is the food which is terrific. Also I normally have my own stateroom which is truly a luxury. |
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Do you need a license to pilot the Alvin? If so, how long did it take for you to earn it? Student
Name: Kelsey
State: CT Country: USA
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Although we don't technically have a license, each pilot of Alvin must be certified by the US Navy to dive Alvin. On average training a new pilot takes between one and a half and two and a half years. |
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Have you ever seen another sub when you are exploring the ocean? Student
Name: Charley
State: CT Country: USA
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In 1997, Alvin and the French submersible Nautile operated jointly in the Atlantic Ocean along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge system. I was not diving at the time and have not had the opportunity to dive with another submersible although I'd love to be a part of a joint expedition again. |
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Are you the only Alvin pilot? Student
Name: David
State: OH Country: USA
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Thankfully no. There are three active Alvin Pilots on board the Atlantis. By March we should have five. At the Institute in Woods Hole there are two pilots that work in the office and occasionally come out to dive, normally if we need relief for vacation time. I believe there have been around 40 pilots since the beginning of Alvin operations in 1964. |
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Does Alvin hold three people AND the pilot or does it hold three people including the pilot? Student
Name: David
State: OH Country: USA
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Alvin is set up for three people total, including the pilot although we once had seven kids inside the sphere with the hatch open on deck. |
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Do the scientists have to go through any tests before participating on this mission? Student
Name: Jamie
State: NC Country: USA
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Is it hard to control the instruments on the Alvin to collect the samples you bring up? Student
Name: Signe
State: OH Country: USA
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Getting good samples with the manipulators and sensors is really a matter of experience and technique. It takes a good number of dives to really get the hang of remote sampling but getting good samples for the scientists is part of the challenge and an important part of our jobs as pilots. |
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Can you tell the difference between night and day down on the sea floor? Student
Name: Emily
State: OH Country: USA
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At the depths we normally dive to there is no ambient light at the frequencies humans can see. We can't tell any difference between night and day except by the time on the sub's clocks. |
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In piloting Alvin, is it difficult to judge the steering as you are moving around the bottom of the sea floor, or is it similar to driving a car? Does Alvin respond easily and quickly, or is there a delayed response? Student
Name: Nikki
State: WV Country: USA
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As a pilot what are your main tasks? Student
Name: Christa
State: WV Country: USA
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A simple answer would be as follows: #1 safety of the passengers, #2 Safety of the Vehicle and #3 Mission Accomplishment but a more detailed answer would take up a lot of space. In the sub the pilot has many tasks to perform, systems to monitor and things to do. Not only do we pilot the sub but also can be a key part of the scientific mission. We perform most of the sampling and manipulation, manage the video and camera systems, monitor and control the temperature probes, sonars and major sensors as well as try to provide the observers with an enjoyable experience. Often we bring along the selection of music for the dives. It's a busy job and often at the end of a dive day I'm pretty beat, but it's still a blast. |
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Does it take longer to go up to the surface of the ocean or down to the bottom because of the pressure? Student
Name: Nick
State: ID Country: USA
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Pressure has a small factor on the sub's total buoyancy and doesn't really effect the time it takes to descend or ascend. Weight, however, plays a major role in our travel time. If we have a large initial payload (lots of gear to deploy for example) we tend to descend more quickly. If the basket is loaded with rock samples, as it often is, our ascent time can be considerably longer than normal. Depth also plays a major role in travel time as the deeper we go the longer it takes to make the journey. |
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Do you eat food on the Alvin and if so what do you eat? Student
Name: Brooklyn & Allie
State: DE Country: USA
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Although we are very busy during the dives we do bring a bag lunch. Normally we get one peanut butter sandwich and perhaps a ham and cheese sandwich too. I like peanut butter and honey the best so I always ask for one or two of those. We also get an apple or a banana and a candy bar. It's sort of like having lunch on the road although there are no rest stops to pull into. |
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What is the emergency procedure if something goes wrong while people are on a dive inside Alvin? For example, what if there was a fire? Student
Name: Rebecca
State: MA Country: USA
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One could think of many different emergencies that might occur while submerged. All of the group train to respond to these emergencies. Fire is a possibility in the sub although we do what we can to minimize the chance of one starting. Our oxygen level is lowered to near 17% reducing the possibility of a fire. All of the installed equipment and materials are tested to make sure that they will not promote a fire. If we were to experience any symptoms of a fire we'd immediately move into an emergency response mode, securing all power to the submersible, putting on our emergency breathing masks, using our installed fire extinguishers to fight the fire and then dropping weights and heading home. |
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Why would someone like me be interested in doing a job like yours? Student
Name: Sarah
State: MA Country: USA
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That's a difficult question to answer as different people will have different feelings and experiences, particularly when it comes to occupations. Personally, I love my job. It tends to keep me travelling and away from land a bit longer than I'd like but all good things require some sort of sacrifice. If you like to work outside, love the ocean, perhaps are a scuba diver and are interested in science, technology and cool machines then you'd probably like working with the sub. Most of the guys in the group, myself included, like to work with machines that go. Pat Hickey, Myself and others in the group fly planes for fun. Others like to kayak and surf. Most of us are avid scuba divers. All of these things have certainly contributed to our enjoyment of the job. Much of the job is about solving problems so you'd best be into that. These might include physical problems such as how to mount a camera or perhaps a mental problem. Ask yourself how do I maneuver the sub around something I can no longer see? Math tends to play a role out here as well, particularly with the navigation. The job can be quite physical as well. We tend to do a fair bit of manual labor getting the sub ready to dive. You can't mind getting dirty from time to time. Believe it or not good science takes a bit of sweat. |
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How cold does it get on the ocean floor?
Student
Name: Ben
State: MA Country: USA
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Alvin's temperature probes normally read around 2 to 4 degrees centigrade when we're on the bottom. |
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Has there ever been any problems with the sub when you were in the water? This is so cool! Student
Name: Jared
State: ME Country: USA
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I have experienced minor problems while in the sub but nothing too serious. Minor electrical failures that have shortened the dive is about the most serious thing I've experienced. Luckily, due to our regular maintenance and inspections and to the level of training we require we rarely end dives due to equipment problems. |
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Besides being the Alvin pilot, do you contribute in any other way to the mission? Student
Name: Rachel
State: ME Country: USA
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My job is not just about driving Alvin. I spend much of my time tracking the sub from the surface, running the recovery operations or even swimming with the sub during launches and recoveries. Much of my time is spent training the PIT's and making sure the maintenance is getting accomplished. I also spend time working with the science team to help them accomplishe their golas. I'll bet diving only takes up about 15 to 25 percent of my time out here. |
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How do the light bulbs on the Alvin keep fron busting from all the pressure? Student
Name: Kaylea
State: WV Country: USA
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Why can't you wear jewelry while in the Alvin? Student
Name: Kaylea
State: WV Country: USA
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There is no rule against jewelry in the sub. What we want to minimize is anything that might present a scratch hazard to the viewports or the hatch. Watches and earrings can be a danger if allowed to drag over the hatch surface during the morning personnel loading or if they rub up against a viewport during the dive. Any scratch on either of these important surfaces could end the whole dive series. |
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Has a shark ever tried to attack Alvin? Student
Name: Glory
State: NE Country: USA
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Alvin's history does not include a shark attack as far as I know. It was however impaled by a swordfish twice, once in the 1960's (the fish became entangled and was eventually eaten by the grateful crew of R/V Lulu) and recently during a dive piloted by Anthony Tarantino ( a small billfish broke its bill on the sub). |
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About how large is the radius of water that is heated by the hydrothermal vents? Student
Name: Ben
State: FL Country: USA
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How many Alvin pilots are there in the world? What determines who is chosen to pilot a specific expedition? Student
Name: Mrs. Szuba's Class
State: PA Country: USA
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Currently there are three active pilots, two 'back up' pilots at the institute and about fifty 'retired' pilots now working in other careers. At the beginning of the cruise our Expedition Leader, Pat Hickey, prints up a list of the dive rotation. Currently we're diving on a three day rotation. If it's your day to dive, then the mission becomes your responsibility. |
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If you were to bring a radio in the deep sea, would you get any reception? Student
Name: Erica
State: WI Country: USA
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Radios require radio frequency energy to send music and news around the earth. RADAR also uses RF energy to get data over long distances, even from satellites in orbit. Unfortunately RF energy won't travel very far in water, maybe a meter or two and that's why we use sound a lot in the sea. SONAR stands for SOund Navigation And Ranging. ALVIN has two SONARs on board as well as multiple acoustic (sound) navigation systems. Radios just won't work underwater. |
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How is oxygen supplied to Alvin during the dive?
Why don't the hoses on the Alvin collapse when descending to the vents? or expand when ascending?
Student
Name: Gary
State: DE Country: USA
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Hoses - We have lots of these and all of the soft tubing is filled with fluid, mostly compensation oil. The oil in the hoses is maintained at the outside ambient pressure and therefore the hose never 'feels' a pressure drop across its surface. Oil compensation for many systems on the submersible is an important part of the overall design. |
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The Web site says that when the Alvin goes down you leave weights to make the Alvin lighter so it can come back up. Does that mean there are piles of weights at the bottom of the ocean now? Does that effect anything in the ecosystem? Student
Name: Scott
State: NJ Country: USA
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Yes, there are plenty of Alvin weight stacks near the 9 north area and although this may seem unsightly the weights are made of iron and break down over time. They are essentially 'natural' and present no real pollution hazard. Our procedures have us release the weights away from the vent communities 'off axis' and other than a small local increase in the iron concentration it's doubtful they have any major impact on life there. Incidentally the replacement HOV (Human Occupied Vehicle), currently in design and due to be delivered in 2008, will only use drop weights to get to the new depth limit of 6500 meters. It will use plain seawater as a descent 'weight' for dives to 2500 meters (such as 9 north). |
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What are the dimensions of Alvin? Student
Name: Dan
State: ** Country: Uzbekistan
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Alvin's specifications can be found on the web at WWW.WHOI.EDU (with some cool photos too). Inside it's about six feet in diameter however the six small feet are packed with people and gear. Outside Alvin is about 23 feet long and 8 feet wide just small enough to maneuver around the hot water safely. |
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Do the ocean currents have an effect on the directing of the submersible Alvin as it descends or rises in the ocean? Student
Name: Steph
State: PA Country: USA
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Absolutely. Often we have to launch up-current from the intended landing target to make sure we land where we want to. Also, currents on the bottom can be quite annoying as they tend to move us around when we're ballasted neutrally. The sub 'loves' to be pointed into the current but if you're near a 'smoker' pointed up-stream you end up with a viewport full of black water which makes it pretty difficult to see. |
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What other oceans has the submersible Alvin dived in? Student
Name: Tim
State: PA Country: USA
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Alvin has been around since 1964 (as long as I have) and has had dives in most of the major temperate oceans of the world although I'm not sure if the sub has ever been to the Mediterranean Sea or Indian Ocean. |
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Being the pilot of the Alvin do you feel nervous before you depart? Student
Name: Morgan
State: ME Country: USA
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No, I don't get nervous before diving. I love taking Alvin down especially in new areas with folks that have never had a dive previously. I think all the pilots would agree. Before each dive the group performs numerous pre-dive checks that are intended to ensure the vehicle's readiness and safety. We have very high standards when it comes to the sub and safety of the three occupants and will not dive the sub if a problem exists. When I get ready to open the ballast tanks and dive, I'm confident that the sub is ready to go. |
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