Alvin and the Hydrothermal Vents
How a submersible made critical discoveries for our geology and the origins of life
Alvin…
Alvin rocks. Named for Allyn Vine, a physicist and oceanographer and inspiration for building this manned deep-sea submersible, Alvin has been responsible for some of the most earth-shaking geological and life science discoveries since it was designed and built in the 1960s.
This is Alvin’s story as much as of the important scientists who usually take center stage.
Plate tectonics…
Harry Hammond Hess was a United States Navy officer during World War II where he captained the USS Cape Johnson. This was not a glamorous ship — it was a transport ship. But it and Captain Hess played important roles in the marine landings at some of the fiercest fighting of the Pacific and the war: the Marianas, Leyte, Linguayan, and Iwo Jima. The Cape Johnson was an attack transport ship outfitted with a then-new piece of technology: sonar (sound navigation and ranging).
With help from his crew, Hess never turned off the sonar and managed to get some very…
