The Altantis II Project Press Section
For Technical Release
11/18/01
The final details pertaining to logistics and design of the Atlantis II habitat are now being settled; now scientists are taking part in the planning of initial experimentation that will be performed in the high-tech laboratories of Atlantis II in its first few months of operation.
Experimentation will lie between two main fields, biological and geological sciences. Accordingly, one laboratory shall be devoted to analysis of the geological samples and tests that will be performed around the Edmond Vent site, and the other to biological experimentation. The principle geothermal research in Atlantis II's first months will be analyses of core samples taken from the vent field, and will be used to determine ages of various locations and layers. Their chemical compositions will give insight into the rates at which these compositions change. These core samples will be taken through the use of the fleet of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) with which the Atlantis II habitat shall be outfitted. These ROVs will also release tracers and dyes into and above the surface to trace flow rates of the ocean current variations caused by the vent systems.
One of the biologists' first experiments will be to determine the effects of different wavelengths of light on the different organisms that reside near the station and among the vents. No light reaches the sea floor at this depth, so for other research to be done, the effects of light must first be determined. Along with in-lab handling of the different organisms that live among the vent systems, scientists plan on using sensors to obtain various data such as pH levels, temperatures, pressures, and sounds, and use that data to determine how they affect the local organisms. Scientists are very interested in finally being able to understand how vents and living organisms interact with one another to form a sustainable ecosystem.
Scientists wish to study these underwater vents extensively and these first experiments are just the initial to understanding how the vents affect the environment. Atlantis II will give scientists their first real chance at being able to study and research these sea floor vents and their surroundings. Atlantis II also gives these scientists many tools at their disposal to carry out their experiments in their hopes to finally understand these unique underwater vents.
For additional information, please contact :
Atlantis2@mit.edu
©2001 Altantis II Project