Alvin Ashore

A large crane off-loads the submersible Alvin from research vessel Atlantis, as WHOI Dockmaster Doug Handy holds a line and Atlantis bosun Pat Hennessy descends the gangway. Alvin weighs about 35,000 pounds—closer to 38,000 pounds loaded with its batteries. Its titanium personnel sphere, in which a pilot and two observers descend to the deep, itself weighs 11,000 pounds. The new sphere was installed during Alvin’s recent major overhaul, completed in 2014. Alvin is part of the National Deep Submergence Facility at WHOI.(Photo by Dick Pittenger, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)