Image

From the Archives

November 13, 2014

This 1967 photo shows the research submersible Alvin in the water with two support swimmers, as crew watch from Lulu, the sub’s first tender ship. WHOI still operates the U.S. Navy-owned Deep Submergence Vehicle (DSV) Alvin for the oceanographic research community. Built in 1964, the three-person submersible has made more than 4,600 dives as deep as 4,500 meters and has many firsts to its credit, including the first human exploration of hydrothermal vents, surveys of the wreck of RMS Titanic, and collection of many previously unknown deep-sea species. After 50 years, Alvin recently entered the next phase of its career. With a new titanium personnel sphere and enhanced research capabilities, Alvin is once again hard at work carrying scientists and engineers into the deep ocean.(Photo courtesy of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Archives)