Developing experience and gaining knowledge for Naval Operations in an ice free Arctic Ocean

Abstract

Preparing to Introduce U.S. Navy Forces into the Arctic. Scientific data indicate that global climate change is warming the Arctic Ocean Basin at a greater rate than other regions of the Earth. Assuming this pattern continues, within this decade both the northeastern and northwestern passages through the Arctic Basin will be clear for a significant part of the year, and indeed the entire Arctic Ocean may be essentially ice free for several months every year. Arctic nations and some U.S. peer competitors are already demonstrating significant interest in arctic exploration and exploiting the projected vast mineral resources that lie on or under the seafloor in the Arctic basin. A multitude of enabling actions should be completed to ensure that our understanding of the Arctic environment allows the United States Navy to successfully operate in that harsh, remote environment. First, data that were gathered during the Cold War years must be resurrected, geo-located, and analyzed to establish a foundation upon which to build. From those results, new studies can be defined to fill gaps in the available data and to evaluate the changes that are occurring, including the potential impact of human activities. Necessary studies include seafloor mapping, sub-bottom profiling, bathymetric analysis, acoustic performance modeling and basing studies. From those studies, enhanced models can be developed to better predict accelerating environmental changes and guide collection of the data necessary to prepare for deployment of systems necessary for national security. A first use of those data and models should be to plan and install a test surveillance array and to conduct studies to support basing vessels in Northern Alaska or at sea in deeper water. This paper summarizes the types of data that can be expected from an array installation and it describes enabling tasks the must be completed in order to effectively operate in the Arctic.