Forums
Adaptations of Marine Worms in Antarctica

Hi Mike!

Your journals are great! I just read the most recent one where you interviewed your dive team and I have to ask if you could get Steve Rupp to explain more about what underwater welding is like. How does it work exactly? Thank you for interviewing all the scientists regarding what go them interested in the field. It reminds me of these Sally Ride Science career books we use in our class that interview scientists and ask them how they got involved in various careers, along with interesting facts about themselves.

My polar club is starting on Wednesday--I can't wait to share your journals with my students!

Also--I think I'll be working with Rob Robbins with my research team at McMurdo!

As it gets closer to my deployment I'm grateful for all your journals to get me excited and also prepared (especially the ones from right before you left to when you first arrived). Thanks for all the great entries!

Sincerely, Michelle Brown

Tue, 09/13/2011 - 11:56

Anonymous

Hi Michelle,Underwater welding works a lot like topside welding. However we never use AC, or Alternating Current to weld with because of the shock danger. AC is like the power that comes out of your household wall outlet and the frequency is not a good mix with salt water and humans. We use a welding machine that provides us with a DC or Direct Current. It is more like the power that comes out of a car battery. We still get zapped from time to time but it is not a dangerous type of current. We use welding rods similar to topside welding rods but they are water proofed and have some added compounds to make them weld better underwater. The welds look pretty much the same but because of the water's cooling effect and potential to contaminate the weld, they are rarely as strong as topside welds. One or sometimes both of the welding leads, (the grounding end and the welding rod end or aptly named "stinger") are connected to a large knife switch that looks like something from a Frankenstein movie. That is controlled by the radio operator on the surface to turn on and off the current when the diver asks to either "make it hot" to turn it on, or "make it cold" to turn it off.
Regards,
Steve