Fiscal Year	2023
Division	Research & Sponsored Programs
Department	Naval Research Program
Investigator(s)	Joseph, John E. Reeder, Davis B.
Sponsor	NPS Naval Research Program (Navy)
Summary	The Arctic environment is changing and has become significantly different from what was studied in the 1970's and 1980's. These changing environmental conditions in the Arctic create new complexities for Antisubmarine Warfare (ASW), calling for a change in tactics and demanding new sensing capabilities. ASW in temperate ocean regions employs a combination of cabled IUSS, submarines, surface ships and air-deployed sonobuoys; however, under the Arctic ice cover, submarines are the only ASW tool, providing only localized coverage. Proposed here is a new approach to Arctic ASW that takes advantage of the coupling of acoustic signals from the water to the ice sheet. This water-to-ice coupling phenomenon was observed by researchers in the 1980's and 1990's, and most recently observed during ICEX20 by a "cryophone" (accelerometer on top of the ice) deployed on first-year ice. The signal from the mobile underwater sound source traveling at 5 kt was received at a range of 10 nm, beyond the edge of the ice floe. Proposed here is a study to lay the foundation for a game-changing operational Arctic capability: a wide-area, air-deployed, persistent, autonomous surveillance system capable of detecting sound sources through the ice while transmitting information via satellite or RF to an overhead asset. Research questions will address the frequencies, ice properties and acoustic paths that affect system performance, and the technological challenges to operationalization. We will use a combination of acoustic theory, modeling, and analysis of field observations from ICEX-20 in this study to improve understanding of how "through-the-ice Arctic ASW" can most effectively be utilized in naval operations in ice-covered waters to enhance our tactical advantage. Deliverables will include semi-annual and final reports, an executive summary and a project poster detailing major findings and recommendations for potential means of exploitation for future Arctic ASW application.
Keywords	undersea warfare, climate change, ASW
Publications	Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal
Data	Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal