My journey to the depths of the ocean in Alvin made me wonder about those who regularly make the journey, namely the pilots. These fellows make up a very interesting group of characters, each bringing unique skills to form a sort of super team, the A-team if you will. Together, they solve countless problems, all looking out for each other, each putting his life in the hands of the others. All this got me to thinking: "What does it take to be an Alvin pilot?" So, naturally, I went to the source ...

Overview

Every member of the Alvin Group starts at the bottom and works his way up, learning the fundamental components of the submersible. As part of the team, the pilot-in-training (PIT) must learn every aspect of operating the submersible, including servicing and maintenance on Alvin.

Swimmer

The first job that is typically mastered by a PIT is the job of swimmer. Swimmers aid in the launch and recovery of Alvin. Their primary responsibilities are to release Alvin from the A-frame on the launch, secure the basket, and reattach Alvin to the A-frame on the recovery.

"Typically, you begin as an observer, watching an experienced swimmer. Then, you swim while someone supervises you. Finally, you do it all as a solo," said Sean McPeak. This pattern is followed throughout all the qualifiers or training periods that the PITs undergo.

Rigid-Inflatable-Boat Operator

Next up is training on the rigid inflatable boat (RIB). The RIB is responsible for picking up the swimmers after Alvin has begun the dive. On the recovery, the RIB is responsible for bringing the swimmers to Alvin and coordinating the attachment of the towline to the submersible.

It's not an easy job. As the RIB operator, you need to be aware of the swimmers, the submersible, and the towline. Your job is to guarantee that the swimmers can attach the towline to the submersible. After the towline is attached and the swimmers have confirmed that the A-frame has Alvin secured, the swimmers dive off into the water, and the RIB picks them up for a safe return to the deck of Atlantis.

A-Frame Operator

After swimming and RIB qualifications, the next position to master is that of A-frame operator. The A-frame operator is responsible for the submersible's travels from the deck cradle to the water (on the launch) and vice versa (for the recovery). The chief engineer is always on hand to assist if something malfunctions, but it's the A-frame operator that works with the launch coordinator to ensure a safe entry and retrieval from the water.

Launch Coordinator

The launch coordinator supervises and coordinates all actions of the previously mentioned people, including the swimmers, the RIB operator, and the A-frame operator. The launch coordinator also talks to the submersible pilot and the bridge to ensure that everything runs like clockwork during launches and recoveries. During a launch or a recovery, the launch coordinator has the final word.

Surface Controller

After the submersible is in the water, there are two very busy people: the surface controller (the next position for the PIT to master) and the pilot. The surface controller is in Toplab and is responsible for giving the pilot their launch altitude (depth of water at launch position) and for following the position of the submersible while it is on the bottom.

This information is shared with the bridge, where the watch on duty attempts to keep Atlantis close to Alvin's position. In this way, Atlantis always knows where Alvin is, ensuring that the ship is ready and in position for a recovery when Alvin surfaces. The surface controller also serves as the primary communication link between the ship and the submersible. This was the person who coordinated our Phone Calls to the Deep and also sends any messages to the science party from Alvin (such as the science report or any questions about deployment of someone's project).

Pilot-in-Training Dives

Along the way, PITs get the opportunity to operate the controls of Alvin under the supervision of a current pilot. These are called PIT dives. There is the PIT, who occupies the pilot seat, a pilot in one of the observer spots, and a scientific observer in the other spot. This way, the PIT gets a chance to try tackling some of the challenges underwater and receive some feedback from the pilot.

While a PIT is receiving hands-on training in these positions, they also are taking written qualifiers. They need to research information about different aspects of Alvin -- including its electrical and mechanical components, safety procedures, and handling the computers -- to pass this portion of the training. Once they have studied hard, they'll go and talk with a current pilot about what they've learned.

"Have you ever had a written qualifier where the pilot said you need to go back and study more?" I asked of Pilot-in-Training Anthony Berry ("A.B.").

"All the time," was his response.

Once a PIT successfully completes one of these, the pilot will sign off on the PIT's performance during this particular section. I think it's really interesting that the current pilots are responsible for the training of the future pilots.

"The chief pilot, Bruce Strickrott, is responsible for the training of the PITs, but everyone in the group is involved," said A.B.

When I asked him about training, Bruce said, "The best thing about training is that talking to the PITs and answering their questions helps to keep the knowledge fresh in the current pilots' minds."

After the hands-on training and written qualifiers, a PIT still has to pass qualifiers under the observation of the current Alvin pilots, an on board science party, the engineers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the U. S. Navy. Because Alvin is certified to dive by the U. S. Navy, the Navy must certify all the pilots.

While it seems like an involved and complicated process, the training it takes to become a pilot appears to be an incredibly efficient system. Future pilots are familiar with every aspect of the submersible before they even take the controls, and current pilots retain the information that they've learned by teaching new pilots and talking about it.

Ohhhhhhhh. So this is what being seasick feels like. We're on our way from 9º north to 13° north.

"We'll be there in about 16 hours," Captain Silva told me this morning. He based that estimate on a speed of about 11 knots and a distance of 180 miles. We had left about five, once Alvin was on deck and secured.

But now we were barreling along at 12.5 knots, in an attempt to arrive in good time to launch Alvin on schedule (about 7:45 a.m.). And were we ever feeling it! I had stayed on deck, for awhile, to watch the world go by -- a different feeling after floating in one spot for ten days. The flying fish were flying, the boobies had been left behind at 9º north, and the waves were waving. Tra la la. I leaned into the bow and felt like the movie stars in Titanic.

I took a lovely picture of clouds on the horizon from which rain was falling, quite some distance away. It wasn't until I felt a drop of rain on my head that I realized those clouds weren't the only squall in the sky. Another one was headed right over the top of Atlantis. Off to the east, a rainbow lit up the sky, and the water took on a glassy gray sheen. I headed for cover.

Dinner is a good idea when you're seasick. So is water, and so is bonine. Seasickness is a function of the inner ear; it's motion sickness. People get it in different situations, depending on their physiology, the great minds around me inform me. Some people can't read in the car, but have no problem on a train. My husband hates merry-go-rounds, but I like them. He can use the microfilm machine at the library (the one where everything goes by sideways), but it makes me need to lie down on the floor. (If I need to look something up, I bring one of my kids along to help me.)

Here on the ship, it's easy to see who responds how. Certain scientists disappear for the evening. Certain scientists find it possible to play Ping-Pong. The crew don't seem to have a problem at all -- because they're used to it? Or because they'd never have become members of a ship's crew if they got seasick?

Barbara Campbell tells me that the worst thing to do when you are on a ship that's moving along with a, shall we say, questionable rhythm, is to use a computer. Well, if you take a look at today's Neat Stuff, you'll get an idea of Mike's response, and mine was about the same. I had always thought that seasickness involved the stomach and that if I got it, I'd be "tossing my cookies" as my grandmother nicely puts it. But the trouble was my head. Everything I looked at might as well have been a microfilm machine.

All evening long, Mike and I and some others wandered from bed to desk and back again, passing each other occasionally in the galley, where others were sitting around drinking water (it's important to drink and eat) and eating oyster crackers (something you can usually eat even if you don't feel like eating).

I could have kept score of who responded how to the movement of the ship, but instead I set my mind to science. It was a good distraction to think about the biocomplexity group instead. These are the people who are working on the metagenome project, trying to understand what makes the vent environment tick by closely studying one community within it -- the bacteria on the fleecy backs of Alvinella pompejana, the Pompeii worm. I should make clear as I begin my scorecard that the people mentioned on it are mostly those who are on the ship. There are others involved who are not here; you can read about the team on the Metagenome Project Web site at www.ocean.dbi.udel.edu.

Dr. Craig Cary is the principal investigator. This means he sets the overarching goals of the project. He divides his time between the University of Delaware College of Marine Studies and the University of Waikato in New Zealand. He has brought along colleagues from both of those schools who are involved in the metagenome project and has invited other people working on research at the hydrothermal vents.

During the cruise, he organizes and plans the dives according to what needs to be located or gathered on the ocean floor. He works with Expedition Leader Pat Hickey and the other Alvin pilots to figure out what can be done to get the samples and deploy the instruments that everybody needs. For his own work, Craig needs samples of Alvinella pompejana and information about the conditions in the Alvinella tubes and in the places they are sampled from. Craig also is the force behind the Extreme 2004 educational outreach program that this Web site is part of.

There are four co-principal investigators in the metagenome project. Dr. Alison Murray is the only one on this trip. Her home institution is the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada. She is involved in sample collection, extracting nucleic acids (RNA and DNA) from Alvinella samples, analyzing them, and organizing both the samples and the information that comes from them. Alison Kelley also does nucleic acid extractions and manages data such as temperature for each Alvinella sample collected.

Dr. Joe Grzymski's work is to help Alison Murray analyze the genome based on the information coming out of the computer response to the data. Then they will work together to design microarrays that will help prove which genes are really working during particular processes in the live of the bacteria living on Alvinella. On the cruise, he's involved with sample collection, activity measurements and nucleic acid extractions.

Mihailo Kaplarevic makes information files for every sample. Alison Murray calls this a "map in pictures" of images, video, and data about each collection from the Alvinella colonies. Mihailo's main job is to work with Alison to create a computer system and database that fit the needs of the Metagenome Project and will help them meet their goal of understanding the Alvinella metagenome. (More on this tomorrow.)

Barbara Campbell has worked on making the metagenome library of the epibionts' DNA. She also works on trying to culture the bacteria in the lab and measuring their activities.

Ky Hacker puts together video packages from the Alvin cameras for each scientist. His role is important to the Metagenome Project because it allows them to match sampling places on the ocean floor with the samples gathered.

There are two other people aboard this ship involved in this project. Charles Lee is interested in specific proteins that help organisms deal with extreme heat. He's from the University of Waikato and works in the lab of another co-principle investigator, Dr. Roy Daniel. Kevin Portune, from the University of Delaware, is on board Atlantis to work with the Sipper, that invaluable tool for taking water samples from the tubes that are homes to Alvinella pompejana.

Some participants in this process aren't even human, they're robots. The Metagenome Project uses them to do certain aspects of organizing and sequencing DNA.