Image

Milestones for Alvin

The human-occupied submersible Alvin surfaces from a mission to the seafloor circa 1967, three years after the sub was built. Two crewmen assist in the sub’s recovery, as others watch from Lulu, Alvin‘s first tender ship. Since then, Alvin has been upgraded many times, taking on different appearances as new components are added. Alvin has had many milestones over the decades, including aiding in the recovery of a lost hydrogen bomb, discovering hydrothermal vent life, exploring the wreck of the RMS Titanic, and examining impacts to deep-sea life after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Alvin recently reached a new milestone: its 5,000th dive. (Courtesy of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Archives)