DSV (Deep Submergence Vehicle) Alvin dives to the sea floor almost every day of the year in the service of ocean science. In the relatively few hours between dives, a team of engineers checks every system and makes sure it’s ready for the next dive. In this photo, in the equatorial Pacific near the Galapagos Islands, Alvin Group members Dave Walter (left) and Jeff McDonald prepped the sub in its hangar aboard R/V Atlantis. WHOI is in the process of upgrading Alvin with a larger personnel sphere and improved systems, part of a phased program for a next-generation human-occupied research submersible.
(Photo by Buffy Cushman-Patz, Teacher at Sea)