Glider Observations of Optical Backscatter in Different Jerlov Water Types: Implications to US Naval Operations

Abstract

Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) are increasingly being used as efficient and cost-effective Intelligent Preparation of the Operational Environment (IPOE) platforms by the Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO), which seeks to provide Battlespace on Demand to the US Navy warfighter. One such UUV, the Teledyne/Webb Slocum Electric Glider, was utilized during four US Naval exercises in the past year to provide environmental data in support of Navy operations. Folding Slocum Glider missions into tactical operations has numerous benefits: the Slocum Glider (1) provides high-resolution optical and physical data in shallow coastal environments in real-time, (2) maintains a low profile when surfaced, (3) is piloted remotely with minimal manpower, (4) can be deployed over-the-horizon, and (5) reduces the amount of time an asset spends off-mission for the sake of IPOE measurements. Environmental data include sound velocity profiles, water clarity, and current velocity. The scientific payload for the Slocum Gliders in the NAVOCEANO glider inventory consists of a CTD probe and an optical backscattering sensor. Sound velocity profiles are derived from the CTD, water clarity is inferred from the backscattering data, and depth-averaged currents are determined by offsets between subsurface dead-reckoning position estimates and actual surface Global Positioning System (GPS) position fixes. One issue pertaining to the optical data is that many of the optical products utilized are based on beam attenuation and not optical backscattering. Consequently, optical backscattering data from the NAVOCEANO Slocum glider data must be converted to beam attenuation to be utilized for algorithms that create optical products.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2010
Accession Number
ADA527455

Entities

People

  • K. L. Mahoney
  • N. D. Allen

Organizations

  • Naval Oceanographic Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Autonomy
  • Human Systems
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Autonomous Underwater Vehicles
  • Backscattering
  • Dead Reckoning
  • Global Positioning Systems
  • High Resolution
  • Inorganic Materials
  • Lidar
  • Ligurian Sea
  • Materials
  • Particles
  • Scattering
  • Underwater Gliders
  • Underwater Vehicles
  • Unmanned Underwater Vehicles
  • Water Masses
  • Yellow Sea

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Acoustical Oceanography.
  • Coastal Oceanography
  • Inertial Navigation Systems.

Technology Areas

  • AI & ML
  • AI & ML - DoD AI Strategy
  • Autonomy
  • Space