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Ocean science giant Alvin set for upgrade
BBC ^ | December 16, 2010 | Jonathan Amos

Posted on 12/17/2010 6:11:32 AM PST by decimon

Few research tools in the history of science can match the achievements of Alvin, the US manned deep-submersible.

It was this 46-year-old vessel which discovered the hot volcanic vents on the ocean floor that transformed ideas about where and how life could exist.

The sub is also famed for finding an H-bomb lost at sea and for making one of the first surveys of the Titanic.

But this veteran of the abyss has been withdrawn from service this week as it gets ready for a major re-fit.

Alvin is to undergo a two-phase, $40m (£26m) upgrade that will allow it eventually to stay down longer and to go deeper - much deeper than its current 4,500m (14,800ft) limit.

"Going to 4,500m means we can dive in about 68% of the ocean," explained Susan Humprhis from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).

"When we go to 6,500m, we will have access to 98% of the ocean. That will make a huge difference; there is so much more to see down there," she told BBC News.

(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...


TOPICS: Science
KEYWORDS: godsgravesglyphs

1 posted on 12/17/2010 6:11:35 AM PST by decimon
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To: SunkenCiv; neverdem

Shipmunk ping.


2 posted on 12/17/2010 6:12:13 AM PST by decimon
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To: decimon

“The sub is also famed for finding an H-bomb lost at sea”

That statement right there should make anyone nervous about who has control over our defenses...

Dang!


3 posted on 12/17/2010 6:15:38 AM PST by Bigh4u2 (Denial is the first requirement to be a liberal)
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To: decimon
""When we go to 6,500m, we will have access to 98% of the ocean. That will make a huge difference; there is so much more to see down there," she told BBC News. "

You first.

4 posted on 12/17/2010 6:25:18 AM PST by OKSooner (Obama confessed "his muslim faith" on the George Stephanopolous show on September 7th, 2008.)
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To: decimon

Hard to believe Alvin is that old, but yeah, I guess so.


5 posted on 12/17/2010 6:27:17 AM PST by bgill (K Parliament- how could a young man born in Kenya who is not even a native American become the POTUS)
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To: decimon
Cannnot think about Alvin w/out thinking of these two gentleman...


6 posted on 12/17/2010 6:32:41 AM PST by Daffynition
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To: Bigh4u2

That H bomb I believe was lost over Spain in the 1960’s when a B-52 collided with a KC-135 refueling plane

That was NOT the first time we lost an H bomb either.


7 posted on 12/17/2010 6:32:46 AM PST by puppypusher (The World is going to the dogs.)
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To: decimon

I had an opportunity years ago to hear Dr. Ballard speak about the study of the oceans and Alvin (and a student and I got to meet him, what a nice guy, he didn’t talk down to the kid, was
very good with him)—I wish I was younger sometimes, I’d love to explore the oceans with Alvin and other ROVs!


8 posted on 12/17/2010 6:32:51 AM PST by pillut48 (Israel doesn't have a friend in President Obama...and neither does the USA! (h/t pgkdan))
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To: Bigh4u2

You’re in good hands with all the State.


9 posted on 12/17/2010 6:37:23 AM PST by decimon
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To: Bigh4u2
That statement right there should make anyone nervous about who has control over our defenses...

They never did find the Mk15 nuke they lost off the coast of Tybee Island, GA, in 1958. 1966 Congressional testimony by then Assistant Secretary of Defense W.J. Howard, stated that the Tybee Island bomb was a "complete weapon, a bomb with a nuclear capsule," and one of two weapons lost up to that time that contained a plutonium trigger.

10 posted on 12/17/2010 6:39:29 AM PST by Thermalseeker (If I print money it's counterfeiting. If the Fed prints money it's quantitative easing?)
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To: OKSooner
You first.

Yeah, I think it's probably better to watch the videos they produce than to spend time in that claustrophobic chunk of steel.

11 posted on 12/17/2010 6:40:48 AM PST by decimon
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To: puppypusher; decimon; Thermalseeker

Ya’ll aren’t making me feel any better.. Ya know?

lol!


12 posted on 12/17/2010 7:23:31 AM PST by Bigh4u2 (Denial is the first requirement to be a liberal)
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To: decimon

But for the adventure....


13 posted on 12/17/2010 7:36:40 AM PST by onedoug
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To: Daffynition

You brought back some good memories. That was when NatGeo was one of the most exciting magazines on the market. I never missed an issue.

Global warming killed it.


14 posted on 12/17/2010 7:37:54 AM PST by texmexis best (`)
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To: onedoug
But for the adventure....

Which might begin months in advance and with tubes stuffed into every orifice. Or maybe not but I'm guessing they would require a thorough physical and a mess of red tape.

15 posted on 12/17/2010 7:50:04 AM PST by decimon
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To: texmexis best

Bobby Ballard is still doing great and wonderful things. He has to continually prostitute himself [to NATGeo]to find funding for his incredible research.


16 posted on 12/17/2010 9:00:31 AM PST by Daffynition
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To: StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1010RD; 21twelve; 24Karet; 2ndDivisionVet; 31R1O; ...

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Thanks decimon. This will be great for underwater archaeology, it would be nice to have about ten of these capable of 4,500m depth.
"Going to 4,500m means we can dive in about 68% of the ocean," explained Susan Humprhis from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). "When we go to 6,500m, we will have access to 98% of the ocean. That will make a huge difference; there is so much more to see down there," she told BBC News.
To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.
 

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17 posted on 12/17/2010 11:00:56 AM PST by SunkenCiv (The 2nd Amendment follows right behind the 1st because some people are hard of hearing.)
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To: decimon

Alvin has sure proven itself over all these years. They’ve really gotten a lot of mileage out of that platform.

I got to crawl down inside Alvin years ago. The Woods Hole ship, I think it was Atlantis II, pulled into Astoria for a few days. A CG buddy of mine and I went down to visit (in uniform) to see if we could talk anybody into a tour. They were happy to... and gave us the royal tour. They even let us climb up on Alvin and go down the hatch. Pretty cool. I’d been interested in Alvin and oceanography since I was a little kid, and it was just amazing to finally get to do that.


18 posted on 12/17/2010 12:06:31 PM PST by Ramius (Personally, I give us... one chance in three. More tea?)
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To: Ramius
Alvin has sure proven itself over all these years.

Sure seems so.

I got to crawl down inside Alvin years ago.

Is it as cramped inside as I imagine?

19 posted on 12/17/2010 12:10:22 PM PST by decimon
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