New seismic vessel will look deep under oceans

The academic community’s most advanced seismic-research vessel was dedicated here today, opening potential new windows on natural hazards, earth’s evolution, and other vital questions. The R/V Marcus G. Langseth, owned by the U.S. National Science Foundation, will generate CAT-scan-like 3D images of magma chambers, faults and other structures miles below the world’s seabeds. To be used by dozens of cooperating institutions, it will be operated for NSF by Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.