By Kris Osborne
Navy scientists have had success in the Arctic using an underwater drone called the Seaglider, a 110-pound, 2.8-meter autonomous underwater robot able to lower acoustic sensors to depths of 1,000 meters. The Seaglider, originally developed by the ONR for open ocean data collection, can be used to gather information beneath the surface of the ice, Jeffries explained.
By the end of the summer in 2014, the science team had deployed over 100 robotic platforms in the ice and the ocean, Jeffries explained.
The Seagliders were programmed to receive acoustic signals or "pings" from underwater sources suspended on cables beneath buoys frozen into the ice at fixed locations, providing precise latitude and longitude information for the drones, Jeffries explained.
An acoustic signal was sent to help us determine where in the water column below the ice the Seaglider was located so that we know accurately where each temperature and salinity measurement is, Jeffries said. Scientist then learned temperature and salinity content in the water column from the surface down to depths of 1,000 meters, he added.
The Navy is analyzing research findings from efforts to deploy underwater drones beneath the ice in the Arctic Ocean to assess how quickly the ice is melting and understand how soon the U.S. and Russia will be competing for new strategic waterways in the region.
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/us-navy-preps-arctic-combat-against-russia-19861
