Mail Buoy
June 11, 2003
Scientist Rhian Waller found
a sponge, right? How could you tell it was one? Have you ever seen
one shaped like that before? Was it attached to anything...like
a rock?
Amudha
Lexington, MA
Hi Amudha,
At all the places we've dived so far, we've seen a lot of sponges
everywhere. Sometimes it is really difficult to tell what is actually
a sponge, because they come in so many shapes and sizes. Some are
really small (a few millimeters) and others are can be really big
(a few meters tall!), and they come in all sorts of colors.
Very often you rely on things you have seen before to try to work
out what type an animal is, and sometimes we get it wrong and it
isn't what we thought it was. This just makes it a little more
exciting, discovering and learning about new animals you haven't
seen before, and is one of my favorite parts of being on a cruise.
The sponge you saw on the website was attached
to an outcrop of fossil Desmophyllum cristagalli, and "fell" into the
net when the pilot Pat Hickey was collecting. None of us here is
sure exactly what type of sponge it is, so we've named it the "Grapefruit
Sponge". When we return to land we'll send it to a sponge
taxonomist (someone who identifies sponges) and we hope they will
be able to tell us what species it is.
Thank you for your question.
Best wishes,
Rhian Waller
Biologist
One of the questions that I was thinking about the most is how
many spare parts you have to repair Alvin if something goes wrong?
Thanks, Mark B
Lexington, MA
Hello Mark,
We in fact carry an enormous amount of spares for the submersible.
The reason for this is because we just can't run out to Home Depot
or K-Mart when something breaks. We generally carry full units
like spare thrusters for propulsion, spare manipulators for sampling,
and spare computers for data collection. In addition, we carry
many pieces and parts to repair the systems on site. We don't exactly
have a complete spare submarine in kit form, but we are close.
Pat Hickey
Expedition Leader, DSV Alvin
After reading many of your updates, I was wondering if you ever
had any disagreements among the crew that affected how much work
you got done. It seems like a hard task to me to get along with
the same people for 3 weeks in such a small space, you never get
any alone time! How do you and the rest of the crew take breaks
from work, just to relax?
Thanks,
Cindy
Lexington, MA
Hi Cindy, that's a great question. In the long history of extended
sea voyages, there are surely many stories of people on a ship
not getting along. In the extreme, such disagreements have led
to mutinies, where a group of sailors conspires to take over control
of the ship from the captain and those loyal to him.
Being at sea for three weeks is hard for several reasons, and
the social challenges are part of that. But the crew on Atlantis
gets along very well. Some of these guys have been friends for
many years, and the same is true of the scientists. I've really
never seen an instance of people being unfriendly toward each other
to the extent that work is affected. It's a very professional atmosphere,
and if a disagreement were to arise, a superior would be there
to handle it.
Actually, there is alone time. Plenty of crew members and scientists
take some time after lunch to sit on the deck with a book. Since
there are so many different shifts and schedules on the boat, your
down time isn't shared by everyone, so there's room and time to
have to yourself.
Independent relaxation time out here takes many forms, just like
on land. Social relaxation time is the same: mealtimes, watching
a movie, or just hanging out and talking are all a part of ship
life.
Thanks for writing,
Joe Appel
Dive and Discover writer
It appears that ABE is quite capable of collecting samples from
the depths. Why is it necessary to send down scientists on Alvin
if ABE is able to collect the fossil coral samples and not be restricted
by bottom time?
Kate Hester
Belmont High School
Hi Kate, thanks for your question. ABE is actually not capable
of collecting samples. Rather, it collects data about the sea floor,
by using high-quality sonar and other technologies. Think of ABE
as a robot that can be programmed to go out and look around but
not touch. Alvin can both look and touch. It's got advanced mechanical
arms and a collection basket that allow it to do so.
There is a device we're not using on this cruise, but which is
closer to the kind of thing you're talking about: Jason. Jason
is a so-called ROV, or remotely operated vehicle. It is unmanned,
meaning people don't go in it. Instead, Jason roams the sea floor,
sending video images of what it sees through a cable to programmers
on board, who can then direct it to pick up samples. Jason is a
great compromise of what Alvin and ABE offer. But like all compromises,
it sacrifices some important skills.
Thanks for following along,
Joe Appel
Dive and Discover writer
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