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The
clouds and sky and water are spectacular out at sea! Hopefully
these shots will convey just how tremendous it is.
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This
is a shot of Alvin being pulled out onto the deck before
the dive yesterday morning. It makes the sub look huge! It gets
pulled on these railroad-track-like rails that extend out under
the A-frame. When the sub gets to the A-frame, it is picked up
and plopped in the water. |
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Here you can see the rope that is put around a hook on the sub
that helps the A-frame pick it up. This rope is about the diameter
of a tree. I have never seen rope this big before! |
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To help Alvin dive, it has four sets of weights tied onto
the outside of the sub - two on each side. When Alvin gets
to the bottom, two weights are dropped to help it become neutrally
buoyant. Then, when the sub is ready to surface, the final two weights
are dropped. Yes, they stay down there and yes, you can see old
ones when you dive. |
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This is a shot of first-time diver Laura Zirelli getting into the
sub yesterday. |
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Sometimes when you're on a ship and can't get off, it feels smaller
and smaller each day. And just like any other job, this one has
its own set of frustrations. Here, Hepsi was taking some of her
frustrations out on the punching bag.
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ecologists Kurt Williamson and Bekki Helton deployed their Large
Volume Water Sampler (LVWS) to get diffuse water from the vent.
This is a shot of the retrieval of the LVWS yesterday afternoon.
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A
shot of the sub through one of the portholes on deck. Pretty cool,
huh? |
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After she returned, Laura got 15 gallons of ice water dumped on
her, just like Hugh did the day before. Can't wait for my dive.
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Then Laura had to warm up by jumping in the pool on deck. |
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Craig
Cary examines the samples after the dive. |
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Craig
Cary and Kevin Fielman retrieve samples from the basket on Alvin
after the dive.
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Here is the famous Alvinella! |
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Once the samples are retrieved from the sample box on the basket
on the sub, the scientists quickly take them into the lab and begin
work while the samples are still fresh. |
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Here
is a close-up of Barb dissecting the worms. |
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Barb
continues with the dissection of a Pompeii worm.
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The wand in Alvin's manipulator arm is used to take a temperature
reading near a clump of tubeworms. |
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Barb Campbell and Alvin pilot Bruce Strickrott pose for
a photo inside the sub. Most of the deep ocean is just above freezing,
so it's chilly in there! |
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Laura
Zirelli is thrilled to be on her first Alvin dive with
Barb and Bruce.
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A
hot, mineral-rich stew rockets out of these vents, commonly referred
to as "black smokers." |
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Alvin's
manipular arm is used to deploy the "Mosquito probe"
to take a temperature reading in the Pompeii worm's tube home. |
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