SODA: Polar Ocean Positioning (SODA-POP)

Abstract

This proposal is submitted for the Stratified Ocean Dynamics in the Arctic (SODA) DRI in conjunction with the proposal submitted by APL/UW entitled An Annual Cycle of Atmosphere-Ice-Ocean Interactions using Autonomous Platforms and the accompanying proposals from Jim Thomson and Martin Doble. This particular proposal is to provide the acoustic beacons and updated acoustic receivers for the UW Seagliders so that they can navigate in real-time throughout the winter under Arctic ice in the Beaufort Sea. The approach is based on that used for the Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) DRI, but with some important differences. The success of that project was due in part to the number and distribution of sensors on the ice, combined with the use of gliders profiling both in open water and in the MIZ. The APL/UW Seagliders utilized open-water detection to surface in available leads even in fairly dense ice cover, and performed real-time navigation using the WHOI acoustic sources that were drifting with the ice. Ranges of more than 400 km were achieved, and the excellent results are attributed to the very phenomena that SODA intends to study: the structure and dynamics of the stratified layers in the upper water column in the Arctic (Webster, 2015; Freitag, 2015). The work included in this proposal includes redesign of several subsystems of the acoustic navigation subsystem to support their deployment on both the highly-instrumented moorings and separate dedicated navigation moorings. The new work includes accurate clocks that can operate for a full year, additional energy storage for the moorings and compact, low-drag packaging for use on the very tall moorings.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 23, 2023
Accession Number
AD1191448

Entities

People

  • Lee Freitag

Organizations

  • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acoustic Navigation
  • Beaufort Sea
  • Dynamics
  • Energy Storage
  • Low Drag
  • Marginal Ice Zones
  • Navigation
  • Oceans
  • Open Water
  • Underwater Gliders
  • Water

Readers

  • Oceanography.
  • Polar and Arctic Studies
  • Software Engineering

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy