On June 5, 1964, the deep-submergence vehicle Alvin was commissioned at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. As the first U.S. deep-ocean research submersible, Alvin has since completed over 5,000 dives, including the first manned exploration of the Titanic wreck in 1986, and has played a crucial role in deep-sea oceanography and marine biology.

Alvin, a workhorse of deep-sea exploration, has been a constant presence in the scientific and popular imagination for over six decades. The discoveries made by Alvin, from hydrothermal vents to deep-sea ecosystems, have profoundly influenced contemporary ecopoetry and nature writing, challenging poets to imagine new forms of life and new ways of understanding the interconnectedness of the planet, as seen in the works of writers like Elizabeth Bishop and Mary Oliver.