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Seen from inside the sub's sphere, veteran submersible pilot Phil Santos guides the JSL beneath the waves.
(photo: Amy Wright)
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A collection of crinoids sits in one of the submersible's collection buckets ready for transport to the shipboard labs.
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With a loud assortment of hydraulic thrums and whirs and hisses, the giant "A-frame" crane mounted on the stern of the EDWIN LINK hoisted the 26,000-pound JSL off of the deck and dangled it within a few feet of the water's surface. An instant later the sub was lowered into the gently rolling sea. It blew its ballast like an exhaling whale and quickly disappeared into the depths.
When submersibles dive, they can be exposed to tremendous pressures. For every 100 feet of descent, another 45 pounds of force presses in against each square inch of the sub's skin. By the time the JSL reaches the lightless depth of 3000 feet, it is resisting forces powerful enough to crush most anything...including a lot of other subs.
Today's dive went to 2000 feet...still quite an amazing technical accomplishment. On a busy day, this workhorse sub can dive twice per day to depths like these, providing a safe and comfortable working environment in an alien world. Despite all of the pressure outside, the sub's passengers remained at a comfortable 'one atmosphere' -- the ambient pressure at sea level. Protected by an acrylic sphere that's over five inches thick and by a solid aluminum observation compartment, the four aquanauts scanned the darkness with their floodlights, surveying the deep-sea floor for interesting specimens.
The JSL submersible gives this expedition an advantage over most others -- it allows researchers to choose their samples and to sample carefully. The sub's robot arm, under the control of a skilled pilot, can snag samples like picking daisies in a meadow...without ever actually leaving footprints in the meadow or bothering the buttercups. Less environmentally-friendly collection methods like trawling or dredging would actually dig up the entire meadow like a bulldozer, scraping loose every living creature and a few inches of topsoil for good measure.
When the three-hour dive drew to a close with samples secured, the researchers left the pitch-dark world below and headed toward the surface.
Back on the ship's deck, anxious researchers met the returning submersible. Within seconds, a chain of scientists formed from the sub to the labs, rushing to get buckets of deep-sea organisms inside. When studying organisms brought up from the cold and pressure of great depths, time is of the essence. Microscopes and test-tubes await! |
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