Hello everyone! I have just completed my first week working as an intern at WHOI with the Alvin Ops Group. I’ve had a blast so far and I can’t wait to see what comes next!
Monday, August 6 was the start of my first internship! After flying to Boston from Sacramento, I arrived at 0620 in the morning and boarded a bus to Woods Hole. As I got off the bus, I saw some white-green buildings towering over the other buildings in town near the water. However as I moved to one side, I soon realized that the “buildings” were actually the superstructure of the R/V Atlantis. Even after reading about its size, I was not prepared for how big the Atlantis was. This would be my home for a month. After meeting with Bruce (my supervisor) and Peter, I was given a quick tour of Woods Hole’s main facilities and the Atlantis. Soon after walking on deck, I peered into the hangar and saw the one and only Alvin. I couldn’t believe that I was really on this internship, working and living aboard the Atlantis with Alvin. It’s still hard for me to take in. After setting my stuff down, I went right to work and met the other new workers/interns named Max, Nick, and Jacob. I was placed on the mechanical team and would be looking forward to working on mechanical issues with Alvin. My first day was filled with new introductions and tours. I got many tours of Alvin’s features, such as its large 60 cell batteries, its pressure compensation systems, and its Titan 4 robotic arm. I also got to meet and socialize with much of the crew, and they were very kind and inspiring in their love for the Atlantis/Alvin. The meals were delicious and proved that the cook is the most important person on the ship. After dinner, I explored the Atlantis some more and looked forward to my next day.
On Tuesday, breakfast was at 0730 (as with all non-dive work days) and it was delicious. I continued to be pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food on the ship. Afterwards, I started working at 0800 by going to the briefing meeting that the Alvin ops group was having in order to figure out what needed to be done in preparation for the cruise. Aside from helping people carry things, I was given the task of doing inventory/inspecting the emergency food/water rations for Alvin and cleaning the sphere blankets as well as taking out the sphere cushions for inspection. Jefferson, the head mechanic, was very friendly and taught me about how the Alvin group manages the maintenance of Alvin. There are lists that reference individual maintenance procedures (MPs) by using a number system. Maintenance is done pre-dive, post-dive, pre-cruise, post-cruise, every 30 days or every 20 dives, every 3 months, every 6 months, every year, and every 10 years (If I remember all of these correctly). I also learned about all of the paperwork that must be done with the Navy in order to clear someone for working on Scope of Certification (SOC) equipment/supplies. These are very controlled because SOC stuff is considered a matter of safety for the personnel within Alvin. I also helped take inventory of the new mech supplies we ordered and stored them all in the hold. From all these activities, I’ve learned that there is lots of time/care put into preparing Alvin for the cruise and much of the work is paperwork and certifications that are run through the Navy. Safety is of utmost importance. Dinner was delicious as we had some sort of barbecued brisket with spicy onions on top and barbecue sauce. It was perfect and went well with the fresh bread/salad. The day was really tiring, but I definitely learned a lot about the ops team’s organization methods.
On Wednesday, I did many different things that were all pretty fun. I got to go inside Alvin for the first time and got a safety briefing as well. It was very small and darker than I expected. The walls were also lined with safety equipment, air tanks, and tons of controls. We also began to work on attaching the two robotic arms. The port arm is a Schilling Titan 4 and the starboard arm is a Canadian ISE manipulator. This was very fun and I was surprised at how heavy the Titan was. We connected it to a pulley system which took most of the weight and we guided it into the shoulder bracket where some of us mounted it via many heavy bolts. I also learned about the O-ring organization system which is very strict because the O-rings stop water from entering the sub’s main sphere. These O-rings must be filed and tracked individually as the Navy can audit WHOI and check to see that their O-rings (SOC A level) are under proper control.
On Thursday, we focused on hooking up the hydraulics for the two manipulators and I got to learn a lot about how hydraulics systems work and what connectors are used. After observing the two more senior interns connect the hydraulics systems up, I was tasked with organizing the hoses so they would not get snagged on debris under the water. Afterwards, we tested the two arms which resulted in the comp (pressure compensator) line snapping out of its connector and squirting oil. The arm still worked and after testing, Nick (older intern) and I worked to fix the connector and reconnect everything. The other problem that we noticed with the Titan arm during testing was that it was not able to raise itself past 90 degrees and points straight out. We thought that maybe it was a leak in one of the O-ring/screws mounted at the top of the elbow or maybe it was a leaky line.
On Friday, we worked to fix the issue of the faulty Titan 4. I did not work on it much because I had many other tasks to attend to, but I kept a close eye to see what was going on. Apparently it was not a faulty line. The team began component testing and running down the line of things that could have gone wrong while testing in between to verify. We thought it was maybe a failed servo valve, but upon changing it out, we learned that was not the case. My work today mainly focused on prepping and mounting the giant titanium T that Alvin is lowered into the water with. It consists of two titanium cylinders welded together perpendicular to one another to form a T and attached at its base to Alvin’s top-center. I got the CAD image of the assembly and disassembled it. I then cleaned the two outer plates, cleaned the bolts, primed the bolts, and after a while mounted the T on Alvin. I started by greasing the center pin and then putting it through the T and its bracket. I then bolted the side plates on and used some Loctite as well.
Saturday was not a standard work day, but we still did many cool things. We started out by prepping Alvin for the public science event/showcase, and I was in charge of wiping Alvin down to make sure it was clean for everyone to see. We then bolted the basket on and put some tools on it for the showcase. Afterwards, Alvin was moved out of the hangar onto the deck and we finished setting it all up. Then Todd (the expedition leader) gave us interns each our own Alvin Ops Group shirts. I was so proud at that moment to have an actual Alvin shirt for cruise. I wore it for the rest of the day. Afterwards, Nick and I went to get some food for the cookout that would take place after the science event. We did not have to be at the science event since only the more senior members were giving tours and answering questions to guests. After the event and at the cookout, I met many working/retired employees of WHOI who had worked with Alvin, Atlantis, Jason, and Jason Jr. I was also able to talk to some of the crew of the Atlantis and get to know them more, and I was able to talk for a long time with Will Sellers who was an Alvin pilot since the Lulu days and even piloted Alvin during the exploration of the Titanic. I was also talking with Bruce, and he said to think about what it is that I want to get out of the internship and to remember it. I don’t think I could name any one thing from this internship that I want because there are so many things that I’ve learned and experienced here that I love. Before the internship, I think I would have said that I wanted work experience, but now that I’ve lived among the Atlantis/Alvin crew, I grown into thinking that I would love to make a career out of this and have also enjoyed the friendships I’ve made in just this week. All in all, I’ve been having an incredible time. I look forward with eagerness at the next week of preparation for our cruise with Alvin!
