A year after his historic solo dive to the bottom of the
Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, movie
director James Cameron has donated the vessel he
used for the adventure to the Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Cape Cod,
Massachusetts.
Scientists and engineers at Woods Hole will work
with Cameron to incorporate the DEEPSEA
CHALLENGER’s engineering innovations into future
vessels to be used to explore the ocean’s depths.
Among the innovations incorporated into DEEPSEA
CHALLENGER were new approaches to flotation,
energy storage, camera and lighting systems that
enabled Cameron to gather data, samples, and
imagery during his descent to over 11,000 meters
below the surface of the Western Pacific Ocean.
“The seven years we spent designing and building
the DEEPSEA CHALLENGER were dedicated to
expanding the options available to deep-ocean
researchers. Our sub is a scientific proof-of-concept,
and our partnership with the Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution is a way to provide the
technology we developed to the oceanographic
community,” said Cameron in a release. “I’ve been
informally associated with WHOI for more than 20
years, and I welcome this opportunity to formalize
the relationship. WHOI is a place where the DEEPSEA
CHALLENGER system will be a living, breathing and
dynamic program going forward.”
WHOI plans to use the cameras and lighting system
from DEEPSEA CHALLENGER on the Hybrid Remotely
Operated Vehicle Nereus, which dove to the Mariana
Trench in 2009 and will return to trenches in the
Atlantic and the Pacific during the next two years.
Those systems enabled Cameron to capture 3D
footage of geological processes and of underwater
creatures.
“Jim’s record-breaking dive was inspirational and
helped shine a spotlight on the importance of the
deep ocean,” says Susan Avery, president and
director of WHOI. “We face many challenges in our
relationship with the ocean, so there is heightened
urgency to implement innovative approaches.
Partnerships such as this one represent a new
paradigm and will accelerate the progress of ocean
science and technology development.”
Cameron has logged more than 3,000 hours
underwater and is a veteran of 85 submersible dives,
and many of his movies reflect his interest in deep
sea diving, including The Abyss, Titanic and a
documentary on the German, World War II-era
battleship, DKM Bismarck.