Underwater Vehicles
Oil spill response beneath the ice
Successful test deployment of WHOI vehicle Polaris expands U.S. Coast Guard response to oil spills in the Arctic
Read MoreArctic AUV Listens Its Way Forward with New Navigation Method
To successfully navigate throughout the Arctic requires understanding how these changes in sound propagation affect a vehicle’s ability to communicate and navigate.
Ocean Encounters: ALVIN
Hear from a volcanologist, a marine biologist, and Alvin’s senior pilot about how the iconic sub enables scientific discovery in the far reaches of Earth’s ocean.
Read MoreFrom Mars to the deep
Navigation technology that helped NASA’s Perseverance rover land safely on Mars could guide robots in another unexplored terrain that’s much closer to home: the deepest trenches of the ocean.
Read MoreNavigating beneath the Arctic ice
A team of MIT engineers has developed a navigational method for autonomous vehicles to navigate accurately in the Arctic Ocean without GPS.
New Underwater Vehicle Gets First Tryout
Long-range autonomous underwater vehicles are being engineered to help with natural disaster response.
WHOI research in five inhospitable locations
Whether they’re under the ice at the furthest poles or hovering above the ocean’s deepest volcanoes, these researchers get the job done.
Read MoreMeet the Alvin 6500 Team: Drew Bewley
Alvin engineer and pilot Drew Bewley on what best prepared him to work on a one-of-a-kind submersible and the overhaul that will take Alvin to 6500 meters.
Read MoreAOP&E Department Virtual Seminar: A Tale of Two Vehicles: The Development, Challenges, and Successes of the Benthic Rover and the MiniROV
Alana Sherman, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute Sponsored by: AOP&E Department This will be held virtually. Please Join: https://whoi-edu.zoom.us/j/93873912253?pwd=Rmo0OXpTT2tJQmNsSzRVNTNwMG1Sdz09 Meeting ID:…
Read MoreAlvin Pilot Is Guest Speaker For Supper Club Series
Arctic scientists test underwater drone on Willoughby Lake
New England winters can often feel as cold as the Arctic. But for researchers from WHOI’s Applied Ocean Physics & Engineering department, Vermont’s polar-like cold proved to be the perfect testing site for Remus 600. The state’s deepest lake – Lake Willoughby – offered fewer risks than the Arctic Ocean, while providing important data about ice measurement and water temperature, helping to streamline the real mission this fall.
Racing an undersea volcano
Using AUV Sentry to make a high-resolution, near-bottom, seafloor map before the next volcanic eruption at the East Pacific Rise
Read MoreA Quick Dive Into How Submarines Work
Submarines can descend thousands of feet below the surface of the ocean, but to do so, they have to deal with an enormous amount of pressure. NPR caught up with WHOI’s Bruce Strickrott, Group Manager and Chief Pilot of the Deep Submergence Vehicle Alvin, who explains some of the fundamental engineering principles that allow submarines to dive so deep without imploding under the pressure, and shares updates on Alvin’s overhaul and future dives.
Human Occupied Vehicle (HOV) Alvin is part of the National Deep Submergence Facility (NDSF). Alvin is one of the most recognized deep submergence vessels in the world and the only one in the U.S. capable of carrying humans into extreme ocean depths. The sub has completed 5,065 successful dives, more than all other submersible programs worldwide combined. When Alvin relaunches next fall, the iconic sub will have the ability to dive to 6500 meters (21,325 feet)—almost 4 miles deep and 2,000 meters deeper than Alvin’s current maximum depth of 4500 meters (14,800 feet). The upgrade will also give the sub access to 99% of the ocean floor.
MC&G Department Virtual Seminar: Exploring the Use of Metals in Biogeochemically Important Enzymes in the Oceans, and Development of the Biogeochemical AUV Clio
Mak Saito, WHOI Sponsored by: MC&G Department This will be held virtually. Information will be posted when available
Read MoreQuantum-enabled scanner will boost our understanding of brain function, doing research 6.5 km under the ocean’s surface
Soule talks to Physics World’s James Dacey about doing science in the Alvin submersible vehicle, which is currently be refurbished to allow it to reach the astonishing depth of 6.5 km.
AOP&E Department Virtual Seminar: Learn What’s Possible: New Vehicle and Science Capabilities
Amy Kukuyla, WHOI Sponsored by: AOP&E Department This will be held virtually Please Join: https://whoi-edu.zoom.us/j/93873912253?pwd=Rmo0OXpTT2tJQmNsSzRVNTNwMG1Sdz09 Meeting ID: 938 7391 2253…
Read MoreMeet the Alvin 6500 Team: Danik Forsman
Interview with Danik Forsman, Alvin Pilot and mechanical section leader on rebuilding Alvin for 6,500-meters and mentorships that helped him become a pilot.
Read MoreThe Creepy, Unbelievably Inspiring World of Deep Sea Parasites
Ocean hitchhikers and bodysnatchers abound in the ocean, from the surface down to the deepest trenches. The question is, why? And is it a good thing?
Read MoreThe Oldest Crewed Deep Sea Submarine Just Got a Big Makeover
Alvin has been ashore getting a major upgrade at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, which operates the submersible on behalf of the US Navy. By the time Alvin’s makeover is wrapped up in late 2021, the storied submarine will rank among the most capable human-rated deep sea submersibles in the world.
Meet the Alvin 6500 Team: Lane Abrams
Lane Abrams talks about designing electronics for the bottom of the ocean and project management of Alvin’s electrical updates for the 6500 meter overhaul.
Read MoreThe Water Below
Drawing on 90 years of leadership in ocean discovery and exploration, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientists are engaged in an array of research projects using autonomous systems to advance their understanding of marine environments.
Meet the Alvin 6500 Team: Francis Elder
An interview with Francis Elder, lead mechanical engineer for the Alvin Group. Find out how the team has designed a new pump to take Alvin to 6,500 meters.
Read MoreWHOI Reveals Upgrades to Iconic Submersible Alvin
Increased depth range and the ability to explore 99% of the ocean floor, including the abyssal region—one of the least understood areas of the deep sea—are just some of the upgrades underway for the iconic human-occupied Vehicle (HOV) Alvin that were unveiled today at the American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) Fall Meeting 2020.
WHOI reveals upgrades to iconic submersible Alvin
One of the world’s most prolific research submersibles will put 99% of the ocean floor within reach of science community when it relaunches in 2021
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