Ship Operations Award 2008 - R/V Marcus Langseth

Columbia University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

The R/V MARCUS G. LANGSETH is a ship that was purchased as a used vessel from WesternGeco in 2004 by LDEO of Columbia University. The ship was converted for use as a 2D- 3D multichannel seismic ship for use by the academic research community. Conversion was completed in 2007 and successful sea trials were conducted in late 2007 and early 2008. Title to the ship was turned over to NSF in late 2007. Data from the 2D cruises is impressive, with increased resolution of structures undergoing studies. The unique capability of the ship with the multi-streamer, multichannel seismic system, and linear well-tuned sound source arrays permits deep imaging of the earth?s structure so that marine geophysicists are able to develop a better understanding of ongoing processes that can profoundly affect society, such as earthquakes, and tsunamis resulting from undersea earthquakes. The vessel can carry up to 55 personnel, including 20 crew members, geophysical technicians, and a complement of scientists. Although the ship was also converted for general oceanographic research, at this time, no such cruises are scheduled for the ship. The ship is a global asset for marine geosciences and works in all parts of the world. Intellectual Merit: The Langseth provides direct field support to NSF funded science programs, the intellectual merit of these programs being determined by scientific programs within the National Science Foundation. The ship is able to deploy multiple hydrophone arrays and linear sound source arrays that improve the quality and reliability of data acquisition. Broader Impacts: This project will support NSF funded geophysical research programs by providing a new level of data resolution and acquisition in studying the movement of tectonic plates. Cooperative programs involving other countries and foreign scientists are developing, and already have developed, since this is the only Academic Research Vessel in the United States capable of gathering this type of data. Consequently we continue the development of students specializing in this field, and extend their learning experience through the international community. This is a two-year cooperative agreement. The duration of the Cooperative Agreement is being changed to bring the program into cycle with other ship proposals that were peer and panel reviewed in 2005. For each year of the cooperative agreement, funding is dependent upon the number of days at sea in support of NSF research, and budgets are renegotiated.