The following passage is adapted from an essay on mid-twentieth-century oceanographic history:
In early 1977, an oceanographic research team launched an expedition to investigate thermal anomalies along the Galápagos Rift, an active seafloor spreading center in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Because deep-sea submersibles operated under strict battery limitations and brief dive windows, researchers relied on preliminary surveying tools before deploying crewed vessels. On February 15, the surface support ship towed the unmanned, camera-equipped sled known as ANGUS (Automated Nautical Geophysical Underwater System) just meters above the basaltic seabed. During this run, ANGUS recorded a localized temperature increase of while simultaneously photographing clusters of giant white clam shells resting on the ocean floor.
Analyzed immediately by onboard geophysicists, the thermistor data and black-and-white photographs allowed the team to pinpoint the precise coordinates of the anomaly, which they designated as 'Clambake I.' Two days later, on February 17, geologists Jack Corliss and Tjeerd van Andel boarded the three-person submersible *Alvin* to execute Dive 713. Descending to a depth of roughly , the pilots navigated directly toward the coordinates mapped by ANGUS. Upon reaching the rift valley floor, the observers witnessed clear, warm water shimmering as it emanated from narrow fractures in the volcanic basalt. This direct observation provided the first conclusive proof of active hydrothermal venting on the ocean floor.
Based on the explicit details provided in the passage, in what chronological order did the events of the Galápagos Rift expedition occur?
- 1ANGUS recorded a localized temperature spike and photographed clam shell clusters.
- 2Researchers designated the mapped anomaly coordinates as 'Clambake I.'
- 3Jack Corliss and Tjeerd van Andel descended to the seabed in the submersible Alvin.
- 4Observers inside Alvin witnessed warm water shimmering from basaltic rock fractures.