unexplored area of ocean off Bermuda.

A steep area of sea-bed at Challenger Banks is to come under the scrutiny of a team of scientists from the Bermuda Zoological Society.

They will be working in the deep submergence vehicle Alvin which, for four decades, has helped to unravel many mysteries of the deep.

Alvin has been brought to Bermuda for the mission aboard its mother ship Atlantis II which is docked in St. George's.

It is operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, and expedition leader is Mr. Roger Hughes.

Mr. Hughes and his crew will assist Zoological Society team members Mr. Dale Butler, Mr. Jack Lightbourn and Dr. Wolfgang Sterrer as they study the steepest rise over a small distance on the ocean floor in Bermuda's coastal waters. The bank rises from 500 metres to 3,500 metres.

Zoological Society development officer Mrs. Sarah Franshen said: "It is the steepest bank in the shortest distance around Bermuda. It has never been investigated to this depth before.'' At present the team is not sure what it will find in the dives on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

Alvin has an incredible 28-year history of searching the world's oceans at depths of up to 13,124 feet.

And it is by coincidence that Alvin is in Bermuda at the same time as the Jason Project, which is the advanced stage of the work that Alvin has carried out since the mid-1960s.

The Jason Project is a live television link-up with scientist Dr. Bob Ballard as he searches the depths of the Sea of Cortez off Mexico, aiming to increase scientific interest among schoolchildren in different parts of the world.

However, before the technological advances that allow the totally electronic Jason Project to explore the deep, Alvin was leading the way in uncovering the secrets of the oceans.

Dr. Ballard was in charge of Alvin and Atlantis II when he discovered the sunken remains of the Titanic and Bismarck . He was able to get a closer look at both ships on the bottom of the ocean by using the mini submarine.

In 1966, when an Air Force B-52 and an air tanker collided over the Mediterranean, and a H-bomb was lost, Alvin located the sunken bomb.

But much of the work of Alvin has not hit the headlines since its June, 1964 launch, and it has been condemned by many as a "waste of money.'' It has helped to unravel many of the mysteries of the last great unexplored area of the earth.

In its 25th Anniversary Book, a spokesman said: "The story of Alvin is a 25-year odyssey of exploration and discovery, loss and recovery and valiant service -- first to engineering vision and later to scientific research.'' VITAL CHECKS -- Expedition leader Mr. Roger Hughes checks out the cameras on the Deep Submarine Vehicle, Alvin which is presently aboard the mother ship Atlantis II docked at St. George's.