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Working Under Pressure

October 24, 2016

WHOI senior engineering assistant Dan Kot refurbishes one of the glass pressure housings from an ocean-bottom seismograph (OBS). This type of seismograph is used to measure the movement of the Earth’s crust under water, where most natural earthquakes occur. The thick glass spheres protect the data logger and batteries of an OBS from the high pressures and low temperatures of the deep ocean; The spheres in turn are protected by yellow or orange plastic “hardhats.” An aluminum or titanium housing protects the instrument’s seismometer. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)