Researchers are anticipating an unprecedented stream of data from the oceans' depths with the dedication of what the operators call the "most advanced seismic research vessel."

The 72-metre Marcus G. Langseth will transmit sound pulses through the sea bottom and read the return signals with hydrophones streaming up to eight kilometres behind the vessel, Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory said in a release Monday.

The Marcus G. Langseth research vessel is owned by the U.S. National Science Foundation and operated by Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University.
(Columbia University)

The technology is not new, but the scale of the setup and more powerful computers are expected to provide "unprecedented resolution and depth in looking at sub-ocean phenomena." That could provide new insights on hazards like tsunamis as well as data on the Earth's evolution and better deep-sea maps.

The equipment will generate "CAT-scan-like 3-D images of magma chambers, faults and other structures miles below the world’s sea beds," the observatory said.

Through its microphones, the ship will also be able to listen to the calls of marine mammals.

While operated by the observatory and owned by the U.S. National Science Foundation, dozens of co-operating institutions will use the ship. The first mission, set for early 2008, will be led by researchers from the University of Wyoming.

The vessel, previously used for oil exploration, was in dry dock in Nova Scotia before sailing to Galveston, Texas, where it will begin two months for shakedown cruises in the Gulf of Mexico.

The ship is named after geophysicist Marcus Gerhardt Langseth, a former Lamont scientist who researched heat flows under the ocean and the effect of volcanism on sea floors.