Before Alvin, the only way to collect rocks was with a dredge haul from a ship. But with Alvin you know exactly where you picked up each rock. Back in the lab scientists analyzed the rocks and found the freshest, youngest rock was from the valley center. The oldest rocks were further away, suggesting that you had two continental plates moving apart. New ocean floor formed in the middle.
Did you understand the significance of these young and old rocks when you collected them?
There was a lot of speculation but you never know the long term significance of these finds until months or usually a few years later.
How did you become an Alvin pilot?
By accident. I had just come out of the Navy as an aviator, flying A4 Skyhawks, as the Vietnam War was winding down. I grew up in California and had an interest in ocean engineering but I wanted to see what it was all about before I went to graduate school, so I applied to companies in Cape Cod. One position was as an engineer for Alvin at Woods Hole.
What is it like to pilot Alvin? Anything like flying?
You move in three dimensions and rely, like a plane, on instruments for navigation. It is pretty slow, only about two miles (three kilometers) per hour, and you can stop and hover like a helicopter.
Which has been your favorite mission?
Any mission where I get to go some place new is exciting. Many sites now require long-term observation, which means that even if the questions are new the pilot is asked to go to the same locations and do the same thing.
Have you ever had any close encounters with large deep sea creatures?
I've never seen any giant squid or whales while inside the sub. The only creature I ever saw that went against expectation was this fish with razor sharp needle teeth that I saw in an issue of National Geographic while in high school in the 1960s. This was the stuff of sea monsters—but when I actually saw one from the sub it was only about an inch (2.5 centimeters) long.
New remotely operated, unmanned underwater vehicles are increasingly being used for deep-sea exploration. Might they put you out of a job?
These vehicles also release Alvin from these routine missions to explore new sites. There has been a lot of talk about fixed observatories at some of these long-term observation sites—but they would certainly require a lot of maintenance by Alvin.
Besides, there is no substitute for visiting new places and seeing things with your own eyes.
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