HMI Light with Alvin Featured at Smithsonian Museum

The Sant Ocean Hall at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History displays images capturing Alvin’s manipulator arms as part of the museum’s subsea exploration exhibit. Included in the image is an attached Deep Sea Power and Light (DSPL) Hydrargyrum Medium-Arc Iodide (HMI) SeaArc® light to illuminate the ocean depths . The exhibit focuses on hydrothermal vents, magnetic strips, and other discoveries that subsea Human Occupied Vehicles (HOVs) have made to support and develop our understanding of plate tectonics and Earth’s movement.

Though Alvin’s operating organization, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), considered retiring Alvin at the Sant Ocean Hall, its size and weight were too large for the hall’s space. Instead, Alvin received significant upgrades and reconstruction through 2013 to continue exploration to previously unreachable depths. A two-part series of Alvin’s renovation and advancements is available to view on Youtube.

Image that is on display at the Smithsonian. The light in the lower left is a first generation HMI SeaArc. Photo courtesy of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI).

The image of DSPL’s SeaArc® appearing at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History is a demonstration of our ongoing commitment to continually improve quality, performance, and technological boundaries. DSPL’s products are able to withstand deep ocean pressures with their high quality designs built around durable infrastructure. For over 20 years, DSPL has collaborated with WHOI to push technological advances and further subsea exploration.

If you are in the Washington DC area, stop by the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History to view the Deep Ocean Exploration exhibit, or attend the Ocean Explorer Theater to experience the deep sea world from the viewpoint of Alvin’s cabin.