Protecting the Environment

How can Atlantis II avoid harming the Environment it is studying?

Environmental concerns surface as a very important part of the Atlantis II mission. Certainly, as a matter of scientific ethic - additional to the responsibility of the scientists to the nations in the surrounding areas of the site and memory of John Edmond - every precaution to maintain the natural development of the Vent System should be exercised.

Other undersea explorers, upon encountering the issue, coined the "Alvin Uncertainty Principle," named in R. Monastersky's "The Light at the Bottom of the Ocean" of September 1996. This concept speaks to the reality that researchers are generally unable to predict the effects of their experiments on the environment. Observation risks intervention. In the particular example of Monastersky's article for instance, a group of scientists under the supervision of Chamberlain, endeavored to test the ability of vent shrimp to detect the faint light and electromagnetic radiation emitted from the vents. Unfortunately, the experiment apparently failed, as the lights on the undersea explorer vehicle blinded the specimens entirely.

The environmental responsibilities of the Atlantis II teams therefore appeared two-fold: to protect the fauna from damage caused by experimentation, and to counter the effects of such a large body as the station and its tests on the local environment.Thus, several solutions emerged, thereby allowing both effective research and the sanctity of the submarine habitat.

In terms of the placement of the Atlantis II research facility, the distance from the actual Vent System was set at one kilometer, a large distance from the 100 meter radius of most hydrothermal vent systems.The possibility of the multi-ton station affecting convection currents and so forth thereby drop to a minimum. More than this, all possible precautions are to be taken to prevent the escape of light and heat from the station and its vessels. Rather simple technologies, today used to cover windows in homes and thereby reduce air conditioning bills, become most useful.

Perhaps the more serious task appears in balancing the ability of researchers to visit the vent area and explore the region firsthand without destroying it. Vehicle designs should be engineered to reduce environmental contamination.

Furthermore, both the biological and geological research aspects have been designed using technologies designed to some extent by oil companies to reduce environmental impact. Using current thermometer capabilities, no probes need be directly sent into a smoker for that purpose.

References 1. Robotic Arm Photo: http://a316.g.akamaitech.net/7/316/34/d0808d417893b9/www.discovery.com/stories/science/seavents/zooms/dis05d.jpg 2. Microscope Photo: http://golgi.harvard.edu/Intro/Tour/images/microscope.jpg