Deep-Sea Submersibles
- By Jennifer Uscher
- Posted 03.30.99
- NOVA
Submersibles have enabled scientists and others to travel to profound depths in the world’s oceans. From the first “bathysphere” developed in the 1930s to the famous Alvin and beyond, these highly machined undersea lifeboats have opened up an entire new world of otherwordly creatures and seascapes to human investigation and wonder. Here, see a slide show of some of the better-known scientific submersibles.
Launch Interactive
From the 1930s bathysphere to Alvin and beyond, see the machines that have transported humans into the inky depths.
This feature originally appeared on the site for the NOVA program Volcanoes of the Deep.
Credits
Photos
- (1)
- Ralph White/Corbis
- (2,3)
- ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- (4,5)
- Ralph White
- (6)
- ©1994 Mark Conlin/Mo Yung Productions
- (7)
- Copyright ©1998 Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, Inc.
- (8,9)
- U.S. Navy Historical Center
- (10)
- IFREMER
- (11)
- ©1997 Norbert Wu
- (12)
- Hawkes Ocean Technologies using Mechanical Desktop 2.0.
Related Links
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Life in the Abyss
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Glowing in the Dark
See a menagerie of bizarre ocean organisms that use bioluminescent light to lure prey, mate, and more.
-
Profile: Edith Widder
Meet a marine biologist and explorer who has engineered new ways to spy on deep-sea creatures.
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