BCO-DMO

Instrument: HOV Alvin

Acronym:

External Identifier:

Description

Human Occupied Vehicle (HOV) Alvin is part of the National Deep Submergence Facility (NDSF). Alvin enables in-situ data collection and observation by two scientists to depths reaching 6,500 meters, during dives lasting up to ten hours.

Commissioned in 1964 as one of the world’s first deep-ocean submersibles, Alvin has remained state-of-the-art as a result of numerous overhauls and upgrades made over its lifetime. The most recent upgrades, begun in 2011 and completed in 2021, saw the installation of a new, larger personnel sphere with a more ergonomic interior; improved visibility and overlapping fields of view; longer bottoms times; new lighting and high-definition imaging systems; improved sensors, data acquisition and download speed. It also doubled the science basket payload, and improved the command-and-control system allowing greater speed, range and maneuverability.

With seven reversible thrusters, it can hover in the water, maneuver over rugged topography, or rest on the sea floor. It can collect data throughout the water column, produce a variety of maps and perform photographic surveys. Alvin also has two robotic arms that can manipulate instruments, obtain samples, and its basket can be reconfigured daily based on the needs of the upcoming dive.

Alvin's depth rating of 6,500m gives researchers in-person access to 99% of the ocean floor. Alvin is a proven and reliable platform capable of diving for up to 30 days in a row before requiring a single scheduled maintenance day. Recent collaborations with autonomous vehicles such as Sentry have proven extremely beneficial, allowing PIs to visit promising sites to collect samples and data in person within hours of their being discovered, and UNOLs driven technological advances have improved the ability for scientific outreach and collaboration via telepresence

Alvin is named for Allyn Vine, a WHOI engineer and geophysicist who helped pioneer deep submergence research and technology.

(from https://www.whoi.edu/what-we-do/explore/underwater-vehicles/hov-alvin/, accessed 2022-09-09)

Dataset Name	Submitter Supplied Description	Submitter Supplied Name
Capture records of abyssal megafauna captured using submersibles and ROVs at Station ALOHA off Hawaii and Station M off California from 2019 to 2020		HOV Alvin
Porewater geochemistry, including methane, CO2, sulfate, and sulfide from Guaymas Basin hydrothermal sediments collected on R/V Atlantis cruise AT15-56 in Nov-Dec 2009		Alvin dives 4562-4574
Summary of the HOV Alvin dives that occurred on R/V Atlantis cruise AT42-24 in the Western Atlantic margin and Gulf of Mexico in February and March 2020		HOV Alvin
Summary of the HOV Alvin dives that occurred on R/V Atlantis cruise AT50-04 in the Western Atlantic margin and Gulf of Mexico in October and November of 2022
List of larval samples sorted out of MOCNESS and HOV Alvin collections from the R/V Atlantis cruise AT50-04 in the Western Atlantic margin and Gulf of Mexico in October and November of 2022
List of biological samples taken during the R/V Atlantis cruise AT50-04 in the Gulf of Mexico and Northwestern Atlantic in late October 2022
Porewater geochemical data from sediment pushcores collected from Southern California Seeps in July 2023 on R/V Atlantis cruise AT50-12	DSV Alvin is owned by the U. S. Navy and operated for NSF by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). DSV Alvin is capable of diving to 6500 meters (about 4 miles). The R/V Atlantis is the support vessel for Alvin. For a complete description see: https://www.whoi.edu/what-we-do/explore/underwater-vehicles/hov-alvin/	DSV Alvin
Sediment methane and sulfate concentrations and radiotracer anaerobic methane oxidation and sulfate reduction rates in the Gulf of California during R/V Atlantis cruise AT50-22 in 2024	Sediment samples were collected by the HOV Alvin using PVC push cores.	HOV Alvin
Geochemical data from sediment pushcore porewaters and water column Niskin samples collected from the Gulf of Alaska, Alaska, USA, in May and June 2024 on R/V Atlantis cruise AT50-24	DSV Alvin is owned by the U. S. Navy and operated for NSF by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). DSV Alvin is capable of diving to 6500 m (about 4 miles). The R/V Atlantis is the support vessel for Alvin. For a complete description see: https://www.whoi.edu/what-we-do/explore/underwater-vehicles/hov-alvin/	DSV Alvin
Bacterial 16S rRNA barcodes associated with methane seep invertebrates collected off of the Aleutian Islands, Gulf of Alaska on R/V Atlantis cruise AT50-24 in May to June 2024	Seep invertebrates were collected from the Sanak seep off of Alaska in June 2024 (53.74865 N/ −162.58970 W; 2,020 m) aboard the R/V Atlantis (expedition AT50-24) with HOV Alvin (operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution).	HOV Alvin manipulator and/or suction sampler
Carbonate rock macrofauna collected by HOV Alvin during R/V Atlantis cruise AT50-24 at Sanak Seep Alaska from May 30 to June 6, 2024	Puschore, rocks, biotubes, and slurp samples were collected with HOV Alvin using the manipulator.	HOV Alvin
Carbonate rock species composition from samples collected by HOV Alvin during R/V Atlantis cruises AT37-13 and AT42-03 and ROV SuBastian during R/V Falkor cruise FK190106 at Pacific margin of Costa Rica from 2017 to 2019	In situ carbonate rocks were taken at sites with different seepage activity in 2017 (AT37-13) and 2018 (AT42-03) using HOV Alvin and in 2019 using ROV SuBastian.	HOV Alvin
Counts of faunal colonists found on experimental settlement surfaces deployed at Tica Vent in East Pacific Rise on R/V Atlantis cruise AT42-21 and R/V Roger Revelle cruise RR2102 from Dec 2019 to Apr 2021	Deployment and recovery of sandwiches utilized deep submergence vehicles HOV Alvin and ROV Jason. Heat Flow Probes (temperature sensors): used to measure maximum temperatures below sandwiches on both HOV Alvin and ROV Jason during the colonization experiment, measurable temperature range is 0 to 40 °C, with 0.2 degree accuracy and .001 degree resolution. Additionally, a temperature pulse can be generated and monitored to observe temperature decay in sediments. Data from the heat flow probe is normally displayed on the observer’s internal video overlays and is additionally recorded in the submersible’s computer data files.	HOV Alvin, Heat Flow Probes (temperature sensors)
Compound specific isotope data of amino acids for abyssal macrofauna, megafauna, sediments, sediment traps, and in situ filtered particles at Station ALOHA off Hawaii and Station M off California from 2019 to 2020		HOV Alvin
Meroplankton larvae and benthopelagic invertebrates collected during field-verification of the novel zooplankton sampler, DeepZoo, at the East Pacific Rise aboard the R/V Atlantis (AT50-33) in January and February 2025	DeepZoo was mounted on HOV Alvin while collecting samples at Riftia Mound and Fangorn Forest	HOV Alvin
Electron microprobe elemental bulk composition from seafloor sulfide deposits from R/V Atlantis and R/V Roger Revelle AT42-09, AT42-21, RR2102 in the East Pacific Rise (EPR) from 2019-2021 (Hot2cold Vents project)	Samples were collected using the HOV Alvin or ROV JASON II on oceanographic expeditions (cruises) AT42-09, AT42-21, and RR2102.	HOV Alvin
Gastropod counts by species collected from inactive sulfides on the East Pacific Rise during R/V Roger Revelle cruise RR2102 in April 2021 and R/V Atlantis cruise AT50-06 in December 2022	HOV Alvin Dives AL5134, Al5135, AL5142
C and N stable isotope data for invertebrates collected by HOV Alvin during R/V Atlantis cruise AT50-24 at Sanak Seep Alaska from May 16 to June 5, 2024	Puschore, rocks, biotubes, and slurp samples were collected with HOV Alvin using the manipulator.	HOV Alvin
Invertebrate stable isotopes from samples collected at methane seeps off Southern California with the HOV Alvin from July 16-28, 2023 during R/V Atlantis cruise AT50-12	Pushcore, rocks, biotubes, and slurp samples were collected with HOV Alvin using the manipulator.	HOV Alvin
Megafauna counts by taxon in images collected during three surveys (December 25, 2019, April 7 and 9, 2021) with deep-submergence vehicles at inactive sulfide mounds on the East Pacific Rise.
Macrofaunal morphospecies from hard-substrate methane seep samples collected on R/V Atlantis cruise AT50-12, Southern California Borderland from July 2023 (Methanosphere project)	Puschore, rocks, biotubes, and slurp samples were collected with HOV Alvin using the manipulator.	HOV Alvin
Pushcore macrofaunal community from samples collected at methane seeps off Southern California with the HOV Alvin from July 16-27, 2023 during R/V Atlantis cruise AT50-12	Puschore, rocks, biotubes, and slurp samples were collected with HOV Alvin using the manipulator.	HOV Alvin
Rock macrofaunal community from samples collected at methane seeps off Southern California with the HOV Alvin from July 16-28, 2023 during R/V Atlantis cruise AT50-12	Puschore, rocks, biotubes, and slurp samples were collected with HOV Alvin using the manipulator.	HOV Alvin
Shell trace elemental data (geochemical fingerprints) from larval samples collected during cruises AT42-24, AT50-04, and TN391 in the Gulf of Mexico and Northwestern Atlantic in 2020, 2021, and 2022
Swim behavior tracking of deep-sea vent gastropod larvae in pressure chamber experiments aboard R/V Atlantis cruises AT50-06 and AT50-20 to the East Pacific Rise form Dec 2022 and Feb 2024	To collect biofilm, “Biofilm Colonizers,” sections of PVC piping covered in stainless steel mesh on either side and attached with metal band clamps, were deployed on the benthos by HOV Alvin on sites with high diffuse flow (confirmed by temperature probe reading higher than ambient temperatures) and left to be colonized by vent biofilm-forming bacteria for 10 d before recovery.	HOV Alvin
Dissection data for metazoan parasites and other symbionts from vent-endemic host species collected from the 9°50’N deep-sea hydrothermal vent field.		HOV Alvin
Water column methane, methane oxidation, and pmoA gene copies above methane seeps determined from samples collected off the Aleutian Islands, Gulf of Alaska on R/V Atlantis cruise AT50-24 in May to June 2024	Water column sampling and profiling was conducted over two weeks during the AT50-24 expedition aboard the R/V Atlantis using the HOV Alvin and a CTD/Rosette system.	HOV Alvin
Water column methane, methane oxidation, and pmoA gene copies above southern California methane seeps determined from samples collected on R/V Atlantis cruise AT50-12 in July 2023	Sampling was conducted over two weeks during the AT50-12 expedition (July 16 to 29) aboard the R/V Atlantis using the HOV Alvin and a CTD/Rosette system for water column profiling and collection.	HOV Alvin
Synchrotron micro-probe X-ray diffraction data from seafloor sulfide deposits collected during cruise AT42-09 on the East Pacific Rise (EPR) in April 2019

Instrument: HOV Alvin

Acronym:

External Identifier:

Description

Instrument: HOV Alvin

Acronym:

External Identifier:

Description