On this week's TechKnow, Phil Torres joins a team of scientists on a special expedition to explore and uncover the mysteries at the bottom of the ocean floor.
The journey begins in Costa Rica aboard the R/V Atlantis, a research vessel operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. From there, Phil gets the chance to take a dive with Alvin, a deep water submersible capable of taking explorers down 20,000 feet under the sea.
Commissioned in 1964, Alvin has a celebrated history, locating an unexploded hydrogen bomb off the coast of Spain and exploring the RMS Titanic in the 1980s. Alvin and its first female pilot Cindy Van Dover were the first to discover hydrothermal vents, which are underwater springs where plumes of black smoke and water pour out from underneath the earth's crust.
After 40 years of exploration, Alvin got a high tech upgrade. The storied submersible is now outfitted with high resolution cameras to provide a 245-degree viewing field and a robotic arm that scientists can use to pull samples of rock and ocean life to then study back on land.
TechKnow's Phil Torres took photos every step of the way, here are some scenes from behind the glass window.
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