2010 Photo Highlights

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A beautiful, winter sunset casts an amber glow on the R/V Oceanus docked at the WHOI pier in January 2010. Oceanus is the North Atlantic workhorse of the WHOI-UNOLS fleet, and it has been used extensively in recent years for studies of the Gulf Stream and related ocean circulation systems and for monitoring harmful algal blooms.

The crew aboard the R/V Atlantis extended a helping hand to a fishing vessel in distress off the coast of Peru on Jan. 20, 2010. The vessel, the Peruvian long liner La Isilla, and its seven-member crew had been adrift for four days. The Atlantis, under the command of captain A.D. Colburn, provided the ship with 150 gallons of diesel fuel, drinking water and food. The Atlantis was en route to Iquique, Chile. Where is Atlantis now?

RV Atlantis steward Carl Wood chats with the Alvin pilot inside the sub during a recovery in the Equatorial Pacific. Launched in 1964, the sub's most famous exploits include exploring the first known hydrothermal vent sites in the 1970s and surveying the wreck of RMS Titanic in 1986. HOV Alvin is owned by the Navy, but is operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and is part of the National Deep Submergence Facility.

RV Atlantis steward Carl Wood dives back into the ocean after securing the lifting lines used to recover the human occupied vehicle (HOV) Alvin. Known for his graceful exits, Carl likes to wait till the sub is far out of the water before he jumps. Alvin has made over 4,500 dives for the ocean science community. HOV Alvin is owned by the Navy, but is operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and is part of the National Deep Submergence Facility. 

The end of a cruise with the deep-sea submersible (DSV) Alvin can be almost as busy as the middle. This photo, taken on April 13, 2010 after dive #4618, shows the crew of the R/V Atlantis washing the sub and preparing it for the next cruise. Visible behind the group on the starboard (right) side of Atlantis is the yellow autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Sentry, which scientists deployed in conjunction with Alvin to map and sample lava fields on the ocean floor near the Galapagos Islands. Atlantis and Alvin are due to arrive at the WHOI dock on September 5 for a rare stopover in Woods Hole.

Ordinary seaman, and occasional Alvin support swimmer, Ronald Whims, relays directions to Alvin’s pilot and helps guide the submersible into position for recovery by the research vessel Atlantis during a July 2010 expedition in the Pacific Ocean. Researchers used the vessel and submersible to study hydrothermal vents along the Endeavour section of the Juan de Fuca Ridge and to deploy instrumentation for NEPTUNE Canada, a cabled seafloor observatory that will gather live data from a wide array of instruments deployed in a broad spectrum of undersea environments.

Alvin, the deep-diving, three-person research submarine, is generally on the job, which means it's at sea. But every few years, it returns to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for routine maintenance and upgrades. On Oct. 17, WHOI took took advantage of one of these rare opportunities to invite the public to see Alvin up close and personal. They also heard presentations by WHOI scientists on the iconic sub's past, present, and future. After two more missions, the sub will be completely rebuilt, receiving a new personnel sphere with an interior redesign.