The
Research Vessel (R/V) Atlantis . . .
is the third vessel to be the support ship for the submersible Alvin.
The Atlantis is a new ship in the US oceanographic research fleet,
and made its first science cruise in 1997. Prior to Atlantis, Alvin
was on the Atlantis II, from 1983-1996.  The
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's (WHOI) first research ship
was named "Atlantis", hence the name has continued. Although
the current ship would logically be called "Atlantis III"
the Navy no longer will allow numbers after the name, hence the
name is simply "Atlantis." Prior to Atlantis II, the support
vessel for Alvin was the Lulu. As most oceanographic ships remain
in the fleet for >30 years, we will be sailing on Atlantis for
a long time to come. More information on Atlantis
is available on the WHOI website.
The
Deep Submergence Vehicle (DSV) Alvin
. . .
made its first dive in 1964,  hence
is about 40 years old. The vehicle has been continuously upgraded,
with major overhauls occurring approximately every 3 years. All
of Alvin's dives have been numbered sequentially. We may reach dive
number 4000 on this expedition. Additional information on Alvin
and its history is available on the WHOI website. |
