Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) of Columbia University proposes to support technical services on R/V Marcus Langseth as part of the U.S. Academic Fleet which is scheduled by the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS). R/V Langseth, a 235? seismic survey vessel purchased in 2005 from Western GECO to be operated as a geophysical research vessel (with some additional general purpose oceanographic capabilities) is owned by the National Science Foundation and replaced R/V Maurice Ewing, a 236? research vessel operated by LDEO from 1990 to 2005.
LDEO is requesting funds to support both basic and specialized services for multichannel seismic data acquisition. They propose to provide at least three technicians on each seagoing research project to provide basic services and to maintain equipment calibrate sensors and provide support for qualified users. Specialized services include both single cable and multiple cable seismic operations. LDEO proposes to sail eight technicians for single cable mode and 12 technicians for multi-cable mode. The budget in this proposal is for the first year of a 5-year continuing grant.
Broader Impacts The principal impact of the present proposal is under criterion two, providing infrastructure support for scientists to use the vessel and its shared-use instrumentation in support of their NSF-funded oceanographic research projects (which individually undergo separate review by the relevant research program of NSF). The support of maintenance and operation of shared-use instrumentation allows NSF-funded researchers from any US university or lab access to working, calibrated instruments for their research, reducing the cost of that research, and expanding the base of potential researchers.
