Speaking of the Ship of the Day...
While patrolling the San Francisco waterfront this morning, Telstar Logistics observed a new guest tied up at a local pier: The R/V Atlantis, a marine research vessel owned by the US Navy and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. It seems Atlantis arrived here after spending a few days exploring Monterey Bay, south of the city.
Upon approaching to take a closer look, we noticed that Atlantis is, in turn, carrying a celebrity submarine in its aft hangar bay: The famous Alvin submersible!
There aren't many subs that can lay claim to superstar status. The Nautilus subs (of both Nemo and nuclear power) are two. Jacques Cousteau had his "Soucoupe" (Diving Saucer), and the Beatles had that Yellow Submarine (although it was merely a drug-induced hallucination). The USS San Francisco is sort of famous -- but infamous is more like it. Alvin, however, is the real deal; the J-Lo of underwater machinery. Woods Hole summarizes the sub's storied history:
[Woods Hole] operates the U.S. Navy-owned Deep Submergence Vehicle Alvin for the national oceanographic community. Built in 1964 as the world’s first deep-ocean submersible, Alvin has made more than 4,200 dives. It can reach nearly 63 percent of the global ocean floor.
The sub's most famous exploits include locating a lost hydrogen bomb in the Mediterranean Sea in 1966, exploring the first known hydrothermal vent sites in the 1970s, and surveying the wreck of RMS Titanic in 1986.
Alvin carries two scientists and a pilot as deep as 4,500 meters (about three miles) and each dive lasts six to ten hours. Using six reversible thrusters, Alvin can hover, maneuver in rugged topography, or rest on the sea floor. Diving and surfacing is done by simple gravity and buoyancy—water ballast and expendable steel weights sink the sub, and that extra weight is dropped when the researchers need to rise back up to the surface.
The sub is equipped with still and video cameras, and scientists can also view the environment through three 0-centimeter (12-inch) viewports. Because there is no light in the deep, the submersible must carry quartz iodide and metal halide lights to illuminate the seafloor. Alvin has two robotic arms that can manipulate instruments, and its basket can carry up to 680 kilograms (1,500 pounds) of tools and seafloor samples.
Atlantis is in San Francisco for a few days to stock up in supplies and swap out a few laboratory modules. She's not open for visits, but if you drop by Pier 30/32, you can see Alvin peeking out from the rear deck. (Take note of that big crane structure on the stern of Atlantis; it's used to haul Alvin in and out of the water.)
Or, you can just sit back in your easy chair take a look at a few of the photos we took earlier today.
To Alvin, the Atlantis, and her friendly crew, Telstar Logistics extends a hearty welcome to the Port of San Francisco!
LINKS:
Alvin Visits San Francisco (A Telstar Logistics photoset)
R/V Atlantis (Woods Hole data page)
Human Occupied Vehicle Alvin (Woods Hole data page)
PREVIOUSLY:
When Submarines Collide
(Photos above by Telstar Logistics)
I just saw a blurb on the Alvin on the Discovery Channel this evening. They claim it was built by the General Mills Corporation in the same warehouse they built machinery for processing food. (Oh, and there it is, right at the top paragraph on Wikipedia.)
Posted by: the idiot | 24 July 2007 at 07:38 PM