SEAS Cruise 2007 : Contributed Essays
My First Dive in Alvin
By Kate Mullaugh, Graduate Student from the University of Delaware
Photo © C. Sheild
Yesterday I had my first dive in Alvin. That morning before the dive, I made sure I didn't eat or drink too much, and as the sign says "PB4UGO", I used the facilities because there isn't a bathroom inside the small sub. When it was time to dive, I climbed a staircase alongside the sub to get in from the top. Before entering though, I had to take off my shoes because shoes are not allowed in the sub. Another scientist and the pilot were already inside and it was pretty crowded with three of us. There is no room to stand - instead, we would sit on mats on the floor the whole time. When it was time to go, they closed the hatch above us and I felt very excited to start the dive. I was also a little nervous because I knew that there was no turning back at that point!
On the way down, it got dark very quickly. Alvin gets its power from batteries and to conserve power, the pilot kept the lights off. I looked through my porthole on the way down and could see things floating in the water that glowed in the darkness. Bioluminescent organisms! It took over an hour to get all the way to bottom. On the way, it got so cold that water condensed on the metal walls inside Alvin.
Once we were on the bottom, the pilot turned the lights on and we could finally see things out the small windows. It was amazing! The seafloor terrain in this area is very rocky and looks like rubble from a torn down building. I could see ripples in the rocks showing how the lava had cooled and solidified after the eruption. Some of the hardened lava actually looked shiny. There were patches of old tubeworm casings or tubes from animals that had died after the eruption. We also saw a lot of new life, like groups of young tubeworms growing. There were lots of crabs scurrying all over the place. We even saw big towers or chimneys with what looked like black smoke coming out and I was surprised at how close some of the crabs got to that hot fluid.
I had so much fun looking at everything that my time on the bottom went very quickly. Once we were finished collecting all the samples needed, we left the bottom and slowly rose to the surface. At the surface, two divers swam out to meet us and assist with the recovery, bringing Alvin back onto the ship. When the sub was safely onboard, they opened the hatch and my ears popped because of the change in air pressure. Finally I could stand up and stretch my legs, climbing up the small ladder to exit the sub. When I got out and was back on deck, it seemed like everyone was waiting to take my picture. Because it was my first dive, I had the pleasure of getting a few buckets of cold water dumped on me - a ritual for first time divers!
It was an amazing experience--I hope that I get the opportunity to do it again. Most people only get to see pictures of the bottom of the ocean. I sure felt lucky to have my chance to actually go there. Thanks, Kate
Bio Snippet: Kate is an analytical chemist and graduate student in Dr. George Luther's lab. On the cruise, she will measure the types and amounts of different chemicals that are in the fluids that come up through the seafloor at hydrothermal vent areas. This is important work to the mission of the cruise because the chemicals provide energy for organisms that live at the vents, and changes in the chemistry can influence whether or not these organisms can grow and survive.
