Hobbies And Interests
Alvin
"Alvin" was the first deep-sea submersible able to carry passengers, named after the engineer Allyn Vine who first envisioned deep sea exploration in the 1930s. Alvin's first untethered dive took place in 1964 and reached 35 feet. Upgrades and reconstruction on Alvin allowed it to withstand the crushing pressure of the deep sea. Alvin's eventual accessible depth reached 14,764 feet. Alvin's hull is made of titanium, and it weighs 37,400 lbs., is 23 feet long and travels at a speed up to 2 knots. Use of Alvin resulted in many scientific discoveries, but Alvin is famous for finding the sunken Titanic.
Doc Ricketts
"Doc Ricketts" is an unmanned submersible. This robotic submersible vehicle connects to a ship on the surface and collects data from the ocean floor. Doc Ricketts has a huge, robotic arm. Pilots in a control room aboard the surface ship activate the undersea robotic arm by wearing a metallic arm. The robotic arm has the dexterity to pick up a sea star or smash a rock. Doc Ricketts has been used to collect data on ecological fallout from sunken shipping containers in the regularly monitored Monterey Bay on the coast of California.
Seismology
The Ocean Bottom Seismometer System is a set of submersible equipment that monitors seismic activity on the ocean floor near Japan. The equipment includes seismometers, Tsunami sensors, optical submarine cable and transmitting equipment to send data and warnings to land. The Ocean Bottom Seismometer can detect ocean floor ground motion from an earthquake. The electrical signals from the system convert to digital signals in the Japanese land station in Omaezaki. The system is kept in synch with a system clock from the land station.
The Mythical Deep Sea Dragon
Chinese engineers developed the first manned submersible able to reach depths of over 20,000 feet undersea where the pressure on it is up to 3,700 tons. The submersible weighs 22 tons and carries three people: one diver and two researchers. It holds the record for the longest length of time working underwater -- nine hours. The submersible is named "Jiaolong" after a mythical deep-sea dragon. With the launch of Jialong, China joined the United States, France and Russia in having the technology to make such a submersible.