Collaborative Proposal: Canada Basin Acoustic Glider Experiment-CABAGE
Abstract
Dramatic changes have been observed in the Arctic Ocean in the past decades, both in terms of ocean temperature and salinity structure and in terms of ice-cover. Ice is melting at a faster rate, resulting in thinner ice and more open water. These changing physical parameters have wide-ranging implications, including their impact on long-range acoustic propagation in the Arctic Environment. The Canada Basin Acoustic Propagation Experiment (CANAPE), funded by ONR and planned for a year-long deployment beginning in September 2016, features a basin-scale ocean acoustic tomography array to help characterize the oceanographic variability throughout the year in the Canada Basin. The goal of the CANAPE experiments is to determine the fundamental limits to signal processing in the Arctic imposed by ice and ocean processes. The scientific objectives of this project, the Canada Basin Acoustic Glider Experiment (CABAGE), largely hinge on the CANAPE gyre-scale tomography experiment. We propose to deploy two Seagliders during CANAPE, each equipped with the standard Seabird temperature, salinity, and pressure sensors; a 1 MHz ADCP; and a WHOI Micromodem, which will serve as an acoustic recorder and low-frequency 250-Hz navigation receiver. The Seagliders will be deployed during two separate missions during CANAPE: a 3-week trial deployment while the array is being deployed, focused on tuning glider operations to the acoustic environment, collecting glider-based acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) data for initial post processing and tuning, and testing the low-frequency navigation system in situ; and a 10-week deployment at the end of the CANAPE experiment during the 2017 melt period, dedicated to collecting acoustic and environmental data and horizontal and vertical shear while simultaneously exploring the performance of the low frequency navigation system. The deployment of Seagliders during the CANAPE experiment will provide vital oceanographic and acoustic data that support the scientific goals of CANAPE and contribute additional high-resolution sections in the Canada Basin. The major contributions of the CABAGE experiment include ¥ spatial measurements of temperature and salinity that complement and provide context for the mooring-based data; ¥ the first ever multi-week collection of vertical and horizontal shear from an underwater vehicle over hundreds of kilometers in the Arctic; ¥ acoustic receptions from the moored CANAPE sources that will offer insight into the range-dependent effects of oceanic variability on ocean acoustic propagation; and ¥ the opportunity to push the limits of low-frequency, long-range, real-time navigation in the Arctic. These data will be used to better understand acoustic propagation in the Arctic, the oceanic and sound speed variability in the Arctic, and to push the limits on low-frequency under-ice navigation.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jun 10, 2016
- Source ID
- N000141612136
Entities
People
- Lora J. Van Uffelen
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Hawaiʻi System