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First Timer

Silhouetted in the early morning twilight, MIT/WHOI graduate student Carly Strasser waves farewell to her shipmates before boarding the Alvin submersible for her first dive. Strasser was accompanied by Monika Bright, a scientist at the University of Vienna (Austria), and Alvin pilot Gavin Eppard as they made a dive during the LArval Dispersal along the Deep East pacific Rise (LADDER) expedition. ” I thought the cramped quarters and lack of bathroom would be tough,” said Strasser, “but all of those things are inconsequential compared to the experience of seeing hydrothermal vents.” (Photo by Lauren Mullineaux, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)