Life Aboard the Langseth: Cody Bahlau on Science

As the R/V Marcus G. Langseth heads from San Diego across the Pacific toward its next seismic and oceanographic missions, Cody Bahlau—chief science officer at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory—describes the daily reality of keeping research teams safe, feeding

A ship can look calm from the deck, but aboard the R/V Marcus G. Langseth the work runs on a different clock—one measured in shifts, drills, and whether a protected whale decides to cross a research team’s path.

Cody Bahlau lives in that tension. As chief science officer in the Office of Marine Operations at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. part of the Columbia Climate School. he serves as the link between scientists. crew members. and operations on shore. His job is to make sure that when researchers arrive—undergraduates. PhD teams. and everyone between—their work is carried out safely and effectively.

Bahlau’s next expedition is already in motion. The boat is at sea after sailing from San Diego to Hawaii and then to the Marshall Islands. where he got off. A group from NOAA is continuing on board from the Marshall Islands to Costa Rica. aiming to go into port in Panama City so the scientists can get off and Bahlau can join the vessel with the STEMSEAS group. The ship will then sail from Panama City to Savannah, Georgia, through the Caribbean for oceanographic science. In Savannah. it will be in port for three or four days while preparations begin for a seismic expedition between Georgia and Bermuda. The team will work for five or six weeks. with a couple of different port calls in Bermuda along the way.

On paper, it’s a route. At sea, it’s a schedule that has to survive weather, equipment timelines, and safety rules that don’t bend.

Bahlau traces his path to this work back to curiosity that started early. “Even in junior high school. ” he says. “I always enjoyed looking at maps and trying to understand landforms.” He went on to earn a geology degree from the University of Michigan. After that. he spent nearly 20 years in the energy sector. learning how to acquire data in remote environments and developing project management skills. He joined Columbia University in 2020, working for Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory on the Langseth.

He says that training—offshore and on land—helps him coordinate the flow of geophysical and oceanographic data, and support the scientists who come aboard with clear objectives.

As chief science officer. he describes a role that is less about being the person pushing the button and more about making sure everyone can get to the right moment. The chief science officer. he says. is the link between the scientists who come on board and the researchers or professors traveling with their teams—from undergraduate groups to PhDs. Sometimes teams bring equipment; often, the vessel brings it. Either way. Bahlau’s responsibility is to work with the scientists. the technicians on board. and the marine crew to achieve the objectives.

That includes data acquisition and deploying gear, but also the constant task of meeting safety requirements. “I’m working with those three groups to try to make sure that everybody can go home happy and healthy with plenty of science,” he says.

The urgency behind that mission comes through clearly when he talks about the kinds of research missions the Langseth runs. One recent highlight, he says, was an expedition in March—Expedition MGL 2602—where the team carried out 3D seismic surveying over the East Pacific Rise.

He calls it especially meaningful because of what came before. In 2008. the Langseth was there doing seismic imaging. and then the ship returned to do seismic work in the same area. The team sailed the same acquisition lines—Bahlau’s description of continuity is practical: they went over the same lines. not just the same region.

In 3D seismic surveying, he explains, more than one cable is towed behind the boat. In this case, four cables were towed behind the ship, separated by 150 meters, while the vessel sailed the same lines. And it becomes more than 3D when time enters the picture: Bahlau says the work is also 4D because researchers can compare how the same area changes over time.

That means scientists can take the 2008 data and reprocess it with modern techniques, then overlay it with the more recent data to see how the area has shifted.

Expeditions, he says, can range from two weeks up to five or six weeks. The Langseth itself can stay out for about 55 days, a limit determined by food and fuel.

Even the most carefully planned science depends on people holding to a demanding rhythm. Bahlau says that when people are working on board, it’s 24/7. When technicians like himself come on board, he works a 12-hour shift, either noon to midnight or midnight to noon. Those shifts run for as long as the ship is at sea, but the schedule can stretch further.

“Sometimes, depending on the operation or if something goes wrong,” he says, he may have to stay up and work 14, 15, or even 16 hours to get the job done.

Living aboard isn’t only about endurance. He describes a small gym, a library, and a movie room. Now there’s Starlink, which lets the crew watch Netflix and Amazon. There are games, and guitars for people to have fun during off time. The ship also runs three hot meals a day. Even when shifts begin at midnight. the stewards—what he calls the ship’s chefs—save a plate so workers still get a hot meal.

When he talks about why vessels like the Langseth matter, the science becomes tangible rather than abstract. He points to UNOLS—the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System—as the consortium of vessels in the U.S. fleet that go around the world to help researchers better understand Earth and the oceans.

He links that mission to everyday stakes. Understanding early tsunami warning systems, he says, depends on ocean research. If an earthquake happens offshore in the Pacific Basin, a system can alert coastal communities to the possibility of a tsunami.

Ocean currents are another pillar in his explanation. They are “the conveyor belts of the Earth’s heat system. ” he says. and studying how they change over time helps reveal how heat moves—such as to Europe—or how currents connect to fishing areas. Off South America, he explains, deep, cold-water upwelling brings nutrient-rich water that supports fisheries. That in turn shapes the food web: by understanding plankton and zooplankton. scientists better understand what fish eat. and therefore how the ocean system interacts with life and human livelihoods.

Back on shore, Bahlau says he tries to make those connections visible—especially to students who have never seen a research vessel up close. He credits outreach with “demystifying what we do offshore for school-age children.”

He livestreams from the Langseth through the Desk to Deck program, sending ocean research into classrooms across the country. He started Desk to Deck just over a year and a half ago. To date, he says he has spoken to over 1,000 students across 30 to 35 classrooms. He brings pictures and videos. talks about what happens on a research boat. and explains ocean literacy—why vessels travel far offshore in the first place.

The questions are a mix of wonder and skepticism. He’s heard students ask. “How many times has a boat sunk?” and “How many sharks have you seen?” He’s also fielded a tougher question from a fifth-grade class: how can you justify spending money to do research in the oceans when there are people who don’t have food. “It’s the full spectrum,” he says, adding that he enjoys it because it forces honest engagement.

For the next expedition, he plans additional livestreaming. He will work with an organization called Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants to livestream and talk to STAR Net, a library consortium representing 100 different libraries, in July.

In earlier interactions, the toughest questions often come down to practical realities. Bahlau says he’s been asked how much fuel a boat uses per day. He’s also been honest when students press for scientific certainty.

He says he sometimes responds with a simple message: “Sometimes we don’t know all the answers, that’s why we’re out here.”

But the questions that return again and again are about marine life—especially whales and dolphins. He keeps whale videos ready for kids. In some parts of the world, he says, whale migrations pass through and people can see them often.

One video he shows is from the Port of Manzanillo, Mexico, where two humpback whales were breaching and splashing down for 20 or 30 minutes. He says they were fairly close.

At sea, those encounters can also change how operations unfold. During offshore work. specifically seismic surveying. Bahlau says there is a dedicated group of people on board called PSOs—protected species observers—who watch for protected species such as watch whales. dolphins. turtles. and seabirds.

If the animals come within a certain radius of the vessel known as the exclusion zone, he says, the team has to stop operations until the animal moves outside the exclusion zone. The goal, he says, is to do science without harming anything while doing it.

The ship uses a passive acoustic monitoring cable with hydrophones to listen to vocalizations of whales and dolphins. By triangulating their position based on those vocalizations, the team can stop operations if the animals approach the distance threshold.

When students ask about careers, Bahlau tries to open up the range of what “working on a research vessel” can mean. There isn’t just one pipeline. If someone wants to be a lead researcher or professor, he says, that’s the PhD track—but it’s only one route.

He describes a full ecosystem aboard: in his comparison to Star Trek. there’s the captain. the chief engineer. and the marine crew. plus the cooks. cleaners. and maintenance crew. Technicians like himself also work there. He notes that his own background is geology. but he works alongside people who came from the Navy or from IT technical school. Biologists can join as PSOs, while the science team includes undergraduates, graduates, and PhDs.

To make the entry point feel reachable, Bahlau emphasizes credentials beyond degrees. He tells students that while a degree is valuable, it shouldn’t be the only strategy. There are micro-certificates. many of them free. that help students build capability and show ambition to learn more than a program alone taught.

He gives one example tied to OSHA, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. With OSHA training, he says it’s possible to get a safety certificate with a 30-hour training. Those micro-certificates, he says, can help build a foundation and support applications for positions on research vessels.

A ship’s mission can be measured in data and miles traveled. but for Bahlau it also has a human endpoint: making sure work and safety move together until the vessel comes home. For now. he’s already counting down the next leg—after a stopover in Savannah. Georgia. and before seismic work between Georgia and Bermuda begins—while the rest of the crew keeps the 24-hour pace. and the science continues to line up with the sea.

R/V Marcus G. Langseth Cody Bahlau Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory UNOLS 3D seismic 4D seismic East Pacific Rise tsunami warning systems ocean currents protected species observers passive acoustic monitoring Desk to Deck STEMSEAS