Aboard Columbia’s global research vessel, the R/V Marcus G. Langseth, Cody Bahlau serves as the key link between the scientific teams, crew members and operations on shore. Despite the diverse and often challenging conditions they may face on the water, Bahlau is responsible for ensuring that all research is performed safely and effectively.
As a chief science officer in the Office of Marine Operations at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, which is part of the Columbia Climate School, Bahlau has contributed to important geophysical studies of mid-ocean ridges, plate boundaries, subduction zones and deep ocean processes. At sea, he also finds time to connect with classrooms on land to demystify ocean research for school-age students.
While preparing for his next expedition, Bahlau offered State of the Planet a glimpse into his unique job and why he believes ocean research is critical to understanding our world.
What sparked your interest in oceanography and climate science?
Even in junior high school, I always enjoyed looking at maps and trying to understand landforms. Learning about different sciences led me to a geology degree from the University of Michigan. From there, I worked in the energy sector for almost 20 years, where I learned how to acquire data in remote environments and developed project management skills. I came to Columbia University in 2020, working for Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory on the Langseth. I’ve used the skills I’ve gained, working offshore and on land, to help with the different sciences, acquire the geophysical and oceanographic data, and help scientists achieve their objectives when they come on board.
What does your role of chief science officer entail?
The chief science officer on the boat is the link between the scientists who come on board and the researchers or the professors who come with their teams—and that could be anyone from undergraduate students to PhDs. They come with a certain set of goals. Sometimes they bring equipment, sometimes they don’t—we have a lot of equipment on board. My job is to work with the scientists, the technicians on board and the marine crew to achieve those objectives. That means data acquisition, deploying gear, looking at meeting the safety requirements, and things like that. I’m working with those three groups to try to make sure that everybody can go home happy and healthy with plenty of science.
Is there an expedition that resonated with you or recent research that you’re particularly excited about?
We just had an interesting expedition in March, Expedition MGL 2602, doing 3D seismic surveying over the East Pacific Rise. This was neat because in 2008, the Langseth was there and we did seismic imaging, then we came back to do seismic work in the same area. We went over the same acquisition lines or sail lines. So 3D seismic is when you have more than one cable towing behind the boat. We had four cables towing behind the boat, with a separation of 150 meters, and we sailed the same lines. Not only is this 3D, but it’s also 4D because you add the element of time. The scientists can look at the data from 2008, which they’re going to reprocess with modern techniques, and then overlay it with the data that we recently acquired and see how that certain area has changed over time.
How long are these expeditions typically?
They can range anywhere from two weeks up to five or six weeks. The Langseth can stay out for about 55 days, which is determined by food and fuel.
When and where is your next expedition?
Right now, the boat is at sea. We sailed from San Diego to Hawaii to the Marshall Islands, where I got off. We have a group from NOAA on board sailing from the Marshall Islands to Costa Rica. They’re going to go into port in Panama City, where the scientists will get off and I’ll join the vessel with the STEMSEAS group. Then we sail from Panama City to Savannah, Georgia, through the Caribbean to do some oceanographic science. In Savannah, we will be in port for three or four days as we prepare for a seismic expedition between Georgia and Bermuda. We’ll work for five or six weeks with a couple of different port calls in Bermuda as we go.
What happens when you return home?
The good thing about working with Lamont and aboard the Langseth is that when the technicians come home, we get to have some time off. Right now, I’m talking to you from Colorado. There’s a little work we do, some pre-planning, shipping, logistics, getting things and people to the boat. But overall, it’s time to enjoy hobbies and decompress after the stressful trip at sea.
What is it like living on the Langseth during these expeditions? What are the most challenging aspects, and what do you look forward to?
When you’re working on board, it’s 24/7. When the people come on board, for example, the technicians like myself, I work a 12-hour shift. It’s either noon to midnight or midnight to noon. We work that shift for however many weeks we’re aboard the ship. Sometimes, depending on the operation or if something goes wrong, I will have to stay up and work 14, 15, or even 16 hours to accomplish what we need to do.
On the ship, we have a small gym. We have a library and a movie room. We have Starlink now, so we get Netflix and Amazon. There are games. We have guitars for people to have some fun in the off time. We have three hot meals a day. But the boat operates on a 24-hour timeframe, so when you’re doing that, the chefs, who we call the stewards, will save you a plate. So you have a hot meal even when you come on shift at midnight.
Why do you think it’s so important to have vessels like the Langseth?
UNOLS [University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System] is the consortium of vessels in the U.S. fleet that go all around the world to help us better understand the Earth and the oceans. If you look at it practically, this translates into understanding, for example, early tsunami warning systems. If an earthquake happens offshore in the Pacific Basin, we have a system in place that can alert coastal communities to the possibilities of a tsunami. We look at ocean currents, which are the conveyor belts of the Earth’s heat system. Looking at those currents and understanding what’s happening over time gives us a better understanding of how these currents are being affected, whether it’s through heat being moved up to Europe or through fishing areas, for example, off South America, where deep, cold-water upwelling brings nutrient-rich water for fishing. When we better understand the plankton and zooplankton that these fish eat, we also better understand our Earth and how we interact with it.
What educational initiatives are you involved with, including the Desk to Deck program?
I really enjoy outreach and demystifying what we do offshore for school-age children. I’ve talked to classes from young fives up to college. I started Desk to Deck just over a year and a half ago. I livestream on board the Langseth to classrooms around the country. Right now, I’ve spoken to over 1,000 students, 30 to 35 classrooms. I have pictures and videos and we talk about what we do offshore, what we do on a research boat, we look at ocean literacy and try to understand why the research vessels are offshore and what science we’re trying to conduct.
I get a lot of questions: How many times has a boat sunk? How many sharks have you seen? But then I’ve also had the question: How can you justify spending money to do research in the oceans when there are people who don’t have food? That was from a fifth-grade class. It’s the full spectrum. I really enjoy it.
For our next expedition, I’ll be working 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.
Have the students ever stumped you with a question?
I get some good questions, like how much fuel does a boat use per day? I’ve also had some science questions where I’ve just had to say, ‘Sometimes we don’t know all the answers, that’s why we’re out here.’ Usually whales and dolphins come up: ‘How many times have you seen a whale?’ I have a few whale videos for the kids.
So how many times have you seen a whale?
In some areas of the world, you have whale migrations come through and you’ll see quite a few. One video I showed to the kids shows us coming into the Port of Manzanillo, Mexico, where there were two humpback whales coming out, breaching and splashing down. They were putting on a show for 20 or 30 minutes and we were fairly close.
When we’re offshore doing our different science work, specifically seismic, we have a dedicated group of people on board called PSOs, protected species observers, and they watch for protected species like watch whales, dolphins, turtles and seabirds. Depending on the species, if they get within a certain radius of the vessel known as the exclusion zone, then we have to stop our operations until that animal moves outside of the exclusion zone. We want to do science, but we don’t want to harm anything while we’re doing it.
We use a passive acoustic monitoring cable that has some hydrophones to listen to the vocalizations of whales and dolphins, and then triangulate their position based on those vocalizations to make sure that if they come within a certain distance, we stop our operations.
What do you tell the students who are interested in careers in marine education or the kind of work that you do?
If someone’s interested in working on board a research vessel, there are many different paths. If you’re going to be a lead researcher or professor, that’s the PhD track. But that’s just one avenue. Just like on Star Trek, we have the captain, the chief engineer, the marine crew, and then all the cooks, cleaners and maintenance crew. We have technicians like myself. I have a degree in geology, but I work with people who were in the Navy or who went to an IT technical school. We have the biologists who come on board as PSOs. Then of course the science team: the undergraduates, the graduates, the PhDs. There are many different paths to work on board a research vessel.
I also tell them that while a degree is fantastic, don’t just rely on that. There are many different micro-certificates that really help, and a lot of them are free. For example, with OSHA [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] you can get a safety certificate with a 30-hour training. You build out your foundation with these micro-certificates and you can show your interest in other areas. Then when you’re applying for a position like working on a research vessel, it shows that you have the interest and the ambition to learn more than just what your degree gave you.
