Aliens of the Deep - crew members

Kevin Hand, Geological Environmental Scientist and Astrobiologist

Kevin is a graduate student in the Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences at Stanford University. He is also an astrobiologist for the SETI Institute. Kevin's research focuses on the origin, evolution, and distribution of life in the solar system. Specifically, his Ph.D. dissertation involves both theoretical and experimental work on the habitability of the putative Europan ocean. He was born and raised in Manchester, Vermont, and has bachelor's degrees in physics and psychology from Dartmouth College and a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. He anticipates finishing his Ph.D. in 2007.

In fact, life exists on the ocean floor, several miles down, where sunlight cannot reach. Life can exist at such depths due to hydrothermal vents, where volcanic activity at the ocean floor releases minerals into the water. Kevin Hand, a planetary scientist and astrobiologist who joined Cameron on the expedition, explains that life in these harsh conditions is made possible by the energy-rich chemistry of the superheated mineral-charged water. "There are microorganisms that live in these extremely hot and toxic environments that metabolize chemicals in the vent water and, in so doing, fix carbon in such a way that it becomes available to the larger creatures," Hand explains. In simpler terms, the microbes eat what the larger organisms cannot and in the process create sugars and other nutrients from which the shrimp and the mussels and the tube worms can live.

Kevin is merging his physics and astronomy background with geology and biology in an effort to understand the origin, distribution, and evolution of life in our solar system. Along with trying to understand the origin of life on Earth, he is interested in the possibility of life on other planets. "My focus is on Europa, one of the moons of Jupiter," he says. "It's believed that there's a liquid water ocean underneath the moon's icy outer shell. If that's right, then these hydrothermal sites may be of some interest to the astrobiology community looking at ecosystems in icy moons or on icy planets. Studying life in the extreme environments of Earth, and in particular at the hydrothermal vents, helps us understand how life itself works. Life on Earth is bizarre and beautiful, and we still have so much yet to learn with regard to what makes life possible. Our understanding of life on Earth guides us as we search for life elsewhere in the solar system."

"I had nine dives - four in the Atlantic, and five in the Pacific," says Hand. "When you first reach the bottom of the ocean, usually all you see are rocks and maybe some sediment, and that's it. Then you start cruising along the bottom to get to the hydrothermal vent site. It takes a bit of searching and it's quite exciting, because the anticipation of seeing the vents builds as you soar along the seafloor. As you get closer and closer to the vents, you start seeing life-some crabs, some fish, anemone-until you get there and it's just a tornado of life-just flourishing. It's an incredible amount of activity. That was my favorite part of each dive-the approach to each site; it was like approaching the top of a mountain and being awestruck by the magnificent view."

"It was also great to meet and work with different people from all walks of life. You're on a boat for weeks on end with this roughly one-hundred-person team and as a result you do everything together. I really enjoyed watching the Russian engineers take care of the submersibles - you could tell that this crew knew every nut, bolt, and wire. They have a good, robust system. It was impressive. It was also fun working with the Russian scientists, though the language barrier was quite a bit larger there and thus there were a lot more hand gestures and confused looks." Hand continues. "The production team was great too, full of amazing characters. We all worked together, ate together, hung out together on the deck at night and traded stories. I've made some great friends."