Scientist Takes Helm as Mini-Sub Explores Crater Lake in Test Dive

Calling the view “absolutely beautiful,” a scientist took the one-man mini-sub Deep Rover into the clear blue waters of Crater Lake on its first test dive Thursday.

Oregon State University researcher Jack Dymond was at the controls as the million-dollar craft dove 200 feet in a shallow area of the lake to study a dacite dome, a type of lava dome the U.S. Geological Survey wanted explored, said Jack Thompson, chief ranger of the national park.

“He said it was fantastic, absolutely beautiful,” Thompson said. “At about 140 feet, he could see the bottom with available daylight, 50 feet below him.

“He was getting a feel for the thrusters (that power the submersible) in fresh water, looking at the computers,” Thompson said, noting the craft acts somewhat differently than in offshore dives into saltwater.

All is on track for the first deep dive Saturday, more than 1,900 feet to the bottom of North America’s deepest lake, Thompson said.

“We’re off and running and it looks like a piece of cake,” the ranger said. “It’s darned exciting, seeing that thing scoot off under water, going down 100 feet a minute.”

The sub was flown by helicopter earlier this week to Wizard Island in the middle of the southwest Oregon lake, created 7,000 years ago in a volcanic eruption.

The National Park Service is funding research by two OSU scientists who believe there are hot water vents on the lake’s floor. If such hydrothermal vents exist, they could be damaged by nearby geothermal activity.

The park service and scientists hope to block a proposal by a California firm that wants to build a geothermal power plant just outside the park’s boundaries. The company says the plant would not harm the lake.