Lamont's Research Vessels: A Look Back – and Forward (1953 - 2006)

	Photo Credit: John Diebold
	Marcus G. Langseth -- the future.

As we prepare to say farewell to the R/V Maurice Ewing and to welcome her successor, the Marcus G. Langseth, we thought it would be appropriate to take a look back at the four distinguished research vessels – the Vema, the Conrad, the Eltanin, and of course the Ewing – which, collectively, have enabled our Observatory to conduct groundbreaking explorations of our planet’s oceans and seafloor for over half a century.

Today’s methods of marine geophysical research are evolving faster every year. Indeed, it was in the process of planning for the Ewing’s midlife refit that the scientific community came to the conclusion that, even with such a refit, she would not be able to provide the advanced tools that are required to conduct such research in this new century. Thus the decision was made to acquire a new seismic vessel that would be better suited to these new scientific requirements. And, in Western Legend, a commercial seismic exploration vessel owned by Western Geco, Inc., the ideal candidate was found.

The National Science Foundation provided funding of more than $20 million to support the purchase and refit of the Western Legend, which, after a year-long outfitting with modern laboratories and scientific equipment, will become the most capable academic research vessel utilizing acoustic and seismic technologies in the world. Newly created laboratory spaces will be substantially superior to those available on the Ewing, and deck space configurations will be able to be optimized for ocean-bottom seismometer operations or general oceanography.

Image Credit: John Diebold & GMT mapping software
Science survey tracks of all research ships operated by Lamont: Vema, Eltanin, Conrad and Ewing. (Click on image for larger view.)

The new vessel, to be renamed the Marcus G. Langseth, in honor of the late Lamont scientist, will be able to tow four 6-kilometer-long streamers. It will be equipped to carry out two- and three-dimensional imaging of the ocean floor and the Earth’s deep interior. These seismic cross-sections, like medicine’s CAT scans and sonograms, will enable us to peer directly into the Earth. Even better, because the receiving systems used by the new vessel to record the sounds that probe the Earth’s interior are substantially more sophisticated than those found onboard the Ewing, the Langseth’s greatly improved imaging capabilities will not come at a cost of increased sound levels transmitted into the ocean, thus minimizing possible impacts upon marine life.

What this exciting new research vessel will allow us to learn about seafloor spreading, earthquakes, magma flow, gas hydrate deposits, continental drift, and more, will expand scientific knowledge about the Earth and contribute to our ability as humans to withstand its extreme forces.

G. Michael Purdy, Director of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, summed it up best when he said, simply, “The purchase of this new ship is the beginning of a new era in Lamont ship operations.”