97 



Fox/Dorman Letter to Editor of Science 



16 April 1993 Page 2 of 3 



dives provide data that has changed, in fundamental ways, our understanding of the earth 

 and its biology. There is compelling evidence that community support in the continued 

 use of Alvin as a viable vehicle into the abyss is strong because a recent call for 

 letters of interest resulted in over 1300 dives requested for the 1994 and 1995 field 

 seasons at sites distributed around the globe. 



• The recent utilization of remotely operated (ROV) and autonomous vehicle 

 (AUV) technology in the harsh environments of the deep sea is viewed as a marvelous new 

 and necessary enhancement of our capability to carry out investigations at depth. Since 

 these deep ocean systems have only recenUy become available, the number of scientific 

 experiments with ROVs carried out to date in the abyss are few, and results from these 

 experiments are as yet preliminary. Nevertheless, ROVs have developed to the point where 

 they can be used as superb fine-scale imaging and mapping tools, creating a high 

 resolution (centimeters to meters) acoustic (backscatter and bathymetry) and visual data 

 set. These results make it possible for the first time to completely image patterns and 

 relationships created by a mix of biological and physical processes at a local scale 

 (meters to kilometers), providing an essential linkage between our regional data sets and 

 the seabed outcrop. Rather than diminish the relevance of Alvin, ROVs and AUVs enhance 

 Alvin's productivity by creating a well-constrained framework into which Alvin can be 

 placed to most effectively maximize its unique potential. In addition, the rapidly 

 developing robotic c^»ability of ROVs indicates that these systems have an excellent 

 potential for in situ sampling. Nearly all deep sea research scientists view the advent 

 of ROVs and AUVs as welcomed and essential complements to Alvin considering the 

 multidisciplinary research objectives that are planned to be carried out during the next 

 decade. Each research tool has its operational niche and particular characteristics that 

 make it best suited to a specific research task. Planned or proposed field programs 

 indicate that there is growing community interest in using ROVs and AUVs to address a 

 range of interdisciplinary questions, both in the water column and on the seafloor. 



