Page 197 - (DK) Super Shark Encyclopedia: And Other Creatures of the Deep

SHINING A LIGHT
Modern submersibles are operated DIVE, DIVE, DIVE!
by a three-man crew and are agile
enough to explore many parts of
the ocean. Big windows and a source
of light help make the view as clear SUBMERSIBLES
as possible.

In 1960 a diving vehicle called a submersible took
a two-man team nearly 7 miles (11 km) down into an
underwater trench at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
To this day, no one has gone as deep, but different
submersibles around the world have completed hundreds
of deep-sea explorations. Submersibles are reinforced
to withstand the high pressures, enabling humans to
explore life in the deep ocean.

DEEP-SEA SMOKERS
Scientists diving in Alvin—the best
known of all the submersibles in
use—were the first to see the
strange animals that live around
hot, underwater volcanic vents
known as black smokers.

Alvin’s robot
arm takes the
temperature
of a vent

OUTSIDE THE SUB
Modern suits made from lightweight
aluminum help divers go deeper for
longer, but they are not strong enough to
go as deep as a crew-carrying submersible.

STATS AND FACTS

DEPTH 14,764 ft (4,500 m)
max. depth of Alvin
Submersibles have
ft 10,000 20,000 30,000
taken humans to the
bottom of the ocean.
m 4,000 8,000 12,000
They can dive far deeper
35,797 ft (10,911 m)
than whales, the deepest- max. depth of US Navy Trieste
diving mammals.
DIVE DEPTH
9,816 ft (2,992 m) deepest
dive of any mammal
ft 4,000 8,000
m 1,000 2,000 3,000
175 1,089 ft (332 m) deepest scuba dive
DIVES MADE BY ALVIN
PER YEAR

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