Gravitational Detection of Submarines
Abstract
Because a submarine usually operates in a condition of nearly neutral buoyancy, its overall mass (including ballast) is nearly equal to the mass of water it displaces. Accordingly, a submarine produces no first order gravitational anomaly. However, in the interest of stability, a submarine is designed such that its center of mass is located below its center of buoyancy, thus giving rise to a net vertical gravitational dipole moment and a concomitant gravitational field anomaly. This report calculates gravitational "signals" and the possibility of detecting them by an airborne gravimeter or gravity gradiometer. It concludes that militarily useful ranges are not achievable.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 02, 1989
- Accession Number
- AD1012150
Entities
People
- Paul M. Moser