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June 1, 2005 Hello, I am one of Ms. Sheild's seventh grade students in Lexington, MA. How long does a person need to train before he or she can actually pilot the Alvin? Piya Hello Piya, There is no simple answer to your question. It depends on the person and his or her progress. The average time to become certified is about two years. The person trains by being part of the Alvin team on the ship and learning on the job. The pilot-in-training (PIT) has to learn all of Alvin's systems, and the other pilots test trainees to see when trainees are ready for exams. In addition, a PIT goes on dives with another pilot to learn how to operate Alvin. Every fifth Alvin dive is a PIT dive—on these, only one scientist goes in Alvin with a pilot and a PIT. When ready, the PIT goes back to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution where he or she take five written and one oral examination. If the candidate passes this internal exam, the next step is the certification oral exam administered by the U.S.Navy. So you can see, it is a very long process and takes lots of dedication! Thanks for following Dive and Discover! Susan Humphris Hello, I live in Lexington, MA and I am a student in Ms. Sheild's seventh grade class. During your cruise, are you working 24/7 or do you have some leisure time as well? SooHee Dear SooHee, Doing research on an oceanographic research ship and using the submersible Alvin are both very expensive, so we have to make use of all the time available. The ship operates 24/7 with most of the ship's crew broken into three groups that stand watches of four hours followed by eight hours off. On this expedition, we have scientists going down in Alvin every day, so the ship is occupied keeping track of the submersible. When they come up, other scientists immediately start working on the new samples—sometimes all night to make sure the samples are processed. In addition, another group of scientists use the ship to operate the TowCam—a camera system that is towed near the seafloor and collects photographs, measures water temperatures, and collects the occasional sample of the glassy surface of the lavas. So the ship is busy every minute of the day, and there are always people up and working! Thanks for following our Dive and Discover cruise! Susan Humphris
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