Fig. 2. Seafloor exploration with Alvin. (a) Using a probe among tubeworms at a hydrothermal vent at the East Pacific Rise. (b) Preparing to sample a black smoker hydrothermal vent at the East Pacific Rise. (c) Shining a light onto a deck bulkhead porthole of Titanic. (d) Investigating the effect of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on benthic communities in the Gulf of Mexico. (Photos courtesy of WHOI Archives (Figures 2a–2c) and C. Fisher, T. Shank, D. Fornari, and the WHOI Multidisciplinary Instrumentation in Support of Oceanography (MISO) facility (Figure 2d).)