The famous mini Research Alvin submarine arrived in San Diego on Thursday at the end of a mission in which his tiny crew witnessed the consequences of a volcanic eruption on the seabed while traveling at 8,200 feet deep in the Pacific Ocean.
The Atlantis research ship led Alvin to the quay that Scripps Institution of Oceanography of the UC San Diego operates in the Bay of San Diego. Scripps, whose scientists sometimes use the submersible to 3 people, helps to serve it.
The 23 feet long submarine, which explored the first hydrothermal fan known half a century ago and then studied the wreck of the Titanic RMS, is based in the Hole Oceanographic Woods Institution on COD in the Massachusetts.
Last month, Alvin made a series of dives on the Pacific Orient far west of Costa Rica to study one of the most active hydrothermal seabed areas.
On April 28, the Alvin team witnessed a rich community of tube storms, mussels and other animals around the vents. When they returned to the region the next day, Whoi said, they found it sterile and misty water – and they saw bounded lava flashes.
They saw the consequences of a volcanic eruption.
The research team also noticed that the water temperature was slightly higher, which led them to return to the surface to avoid potential problems.
“When we saw an orange sparkling glow in certain cracks, it confirmed that a volcanic eruption had taken place and was still in progress,” said Alvin Kaitlyn Beardhear driver in a statement.
The dives remaining on Alvin were canceled. But scientists aboard the Mother Atlantis ship were able to read that helped explain the phenomenon that the submarine had encountered.
Originally published:
California Daily Newspapers
