Alvin Update
HOV Alvin Upgrade Progress Report
Alvin during its 2014 science verification cruise in the Gulf of Mexico. The submersible has safely transported over 2,500 researchers on more than 4,800 dives to depths of 14,764 feet (4,500 meters). (Photo by Chris Linder, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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 4,500 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, completed in 2013, 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.
Currently rated to 4,500m, which gives researchers in-person access to about 2/3 of the ocean floor, the most recent upgrade increased the depth rating of many of the vehicle's systems, making it just steps away from having a depth rating of 6,500m, or approximately 98% of the seafloor. 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.
The Oldest Crewed Deep Sea Submarine Just Got a Big Makeover
In an age of autonomous machines, the Deep Submergence team explains the enduring value of crewed submersibles
Meet the Alvin 6500 Team: Lane Abrams
Lane Abrams talks about designing electronics for the bottom of the ocean and project management of Alvin's electrical updates for the 6500 meter overhaul.
Meet the Alvin 6500 Team: Francis Elder
An interview with Francis Elder, lead mechanical engineer for the Alvin Group. Find out how the team has designed a new pump to take Alvin to 6,500 meters.
Overhaul to take Alvin to greater extremes
The Human Occupied Vehicle (HOV) Alvin returned to Woods Hole, Mass. this spring for the final phase of an overhaul that will allow the submarine to dive to 6,500 meters.
WHOI reveals upgrades to iconic submersible Alvin
One of the world's most prolific research submersibles will put 99% of the ocean floor within reach of science community when it relaunches in 2021
WHOI Scientists Make Woods Hole Film Festival Appearance
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientists appear in two shorts and a feature film at this year's Woods Hole Film…
WHOI to be Featured in Upcoming BBC Program 'Blue Planet Live'
Scientists, engineers, vehicle operators, and ship crew from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) will be a featured part of the upcoming BBC program, Blue Planet Live, which will air over four nights beginning March 24. The series will include two live broadcasts from the research vessel Atlantis showing launch and recovery of the human-occupied submersible Alvin.
Alvin Submersible Makes 5,000th Dive
Alvin, the country's only deep-diving research submersible capable of carrying humans to the sea floor, reached another milestone in its long career on Nov. 26, 2018, when the sub made its 5,000th dive during an expedition to the Guaymas Basin in the Gulf of California.
Podcast: Using Philanthropy to Explore the World's Oceans
Quotes Mark Abbott
Life Without Guts
Piece and accompanying video highlights the Alvin sub and the discovery of hydrothermal vent life
The Hunt for Undiscovered Drugs at the Bottom of the Sea
mentions HOV Alvin
OASIS Scientists Catch High-Tech Ride to the Bottom of the Sea
features OASIS Expedition mentions HOV Alvin, AUV Sentry and MISO TowCam
Journey to the Bottom of the Sea
My eyelids were tightly pressed down as I mustered all the tricks I could think of to get myself to…
The Discovery of Hydrothermal Vents
In 1977, WHOI scientists made a discovery that revolutionized our understanding of how and where life could exist on Earth and other planetary bodies.
Pop Goes the Seafloor Rock
WHOI scientists used the human-occupied submersible Alvin and the autonomous underwater vehicle Sentry to explore a surprising discovery: gas-filled volcanic rocks on the seafloor that "pop" when brought up to the surface.
Bringing a Lab to the Seafloor
Scientists can't really know if new oceanographic instruments will really work until they try them in actual conditions in the real ocean. In this case, the rubber hit the road at the bottom of the sea.
Duke University Stories
Two Duke Scientists Go To Sea with Alvin
For two weeks last summer, a pair of marine scientists joined the venerated submarine to explore the ocean shelf off Massachusetts
Journal of Ocean Technology
The Deep Submergence Vehicle Alvin
An Advanced Platform for Direct Deep Sea Observation and Research
NDSF Users Website
View the Atlantis/Alvin schedule
Dive Deeper: Alvin Takes You There
Explore the sub, meet the scientists, and learn how Alvinenables ocean exploration and research
Special Multimedia Features
Inside the Alvin sphere
Take a 360 tour inside the sphere where researchers and the Alvin pilot sit while exploring the deep sea.
Alvin Interactive Guide
The deep diving submersible Alvin helped to turn a sunless, freezing marine world into a new frontier.
Improving an Icon
Details of the upgrade and Alvin's new capabilities.
Rebuilding Alvin Oceanus magazine takes a look at the people behind the upgrade.
Alvin Around the World
Alvin Dive Sites (1988 to present)
See where Alvin has been and what it has found. (Requires Google Earth)
Slideshow: Alvin in Photos
Video: Alvin Returns to Woods Hole
Video: Seafloor to Space Station
Researcher in Alvin talks to an astronaut on the International Space Station.
HOV Alvin Fact Sheet