Famous Alvin Submersible Upgraded to Dive More Than 20,000 Feet Under the Sea – Gizmodo
The Alvin submersible is now capable of diving to 21,325 feet (6,500 meters), putting 99% of the ocean floor within its reach.Alvin’s upgrade has been in the works for over four years, with its last iteration completed in 2021. The veteran submersible can now dive nearly 6,700 feet (2,000 meters) deeper than before, enabling scientists to explore the ocean’s most abyssal recesses.“The new maximum depth puts roughly 98-99% of the global seafloor in reach —including the lower Abyssal Zone and the upper Hadal Zone, home to ultra-high-temperature hydrothermal vents, newly discovered volcanic processes, untold mineral resources, and much more,” said Anna Michel, Associate Scientist in Applied Ocean Physics & Engineering at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and chief scientist of the National Deep Submergence Facility, which operates Alvin, in an emailed statement.Alvin is a human-operated vehicle, or HOV, setting it apart from autonomously underwater vehicles (AUVs) and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). It can be crewed by two people and dive for up to 10 hours at a time, and up to 30 days in a row before requiring scheduled maintenance.You may remember the intrepid craft for its visit to the wreck of Titanic in 1986. The vehicle has been in operation since 1964, making it over 60 years old, and has been overhauled and updated multiple times in its tenure.As reported by Eos, the Alvin team conducted a set of dives in summer 2022 to test out the submersible’s latest upgrades. All six dives were successful, showcasing that the vehicle could indeed dive thousands of feet deeper than before.Components of Alvin’s design, including its titanium personnel sphere, were completed back in 2012, but beginning in 2020 a slew of other upgrades began. Engineers endowed the old sub with new ballast spheres, a new manipulator arm, upgraded hydraulics, a 4K imaging system, and brand new thrusters.“This also gives the science community an unprecedented opportunity to visit a critically under-studied part of the planet that plays a role in carbon and nutrient cycling and that will offer a view into how life might be evolved to conditions in oceans beyond Earth,” Michel added. Indeed, life at the ocean’s depths is a hint at how life might look should it exist in subsurface oceans on moons like Europa or Enceladus.The deep sea is filled with biodiversity, much of which looks strange compared to life on land. Consider the glowing nudibranch identified late last year, after mystifying scientists with its perplexing structure for over a quarter century. Alvin’s new depth certification will enable scientists to see more of the creatures and hydrological systems that make up the alien world at the bottom of the sea.You can read about Alvin’s incredible history here, in a story celebrating the submersible’s 60th anniversary.
oceansSubmarine
Get the best tech, science, and culture news in your inbox daily.
News from the future, delivered to your present.
Please select your desired newsletters and submit your email to upgrade your inbox.
A new study finds that the rate of ocean warming has more than quadrupled over the past 40 years—and pinpoints why.
Rudiger Koch spent around four months in a 322.9-square-foot capsule 36 feet below the surface of the water.
Climate change is wrecking the delicate balance between groundwater and ocean water, according to new research.
The newly discovered predator sheds light on the surprising creatures that have evolved to thrive in some of the world’s most extreme environments.
A nudibranch from the midnight zone has fingers on its tail, collects food with a hood, and glows.
Do we have another F-35 boondoggle on our hands?
Best of CES 2025 Awards ➜We may earn a commission when you buy through links on our sites.
©2025 GIZMODO USA LLC. All rights reserved.Mode
Follow us
Mode
Follow us
