@inproceedings{schmidt2016icex,
title = {Acoustic Communication and Navigation in the New Arctic; A Model Case for
Environmental Adaptation},
booktitle = {2016 IEEE Third Underwater Communications and Networking Conference (UComms)},
author = {Henrik Schmidt and Toby Schneider},
pages = {1-4},
month = {August},
year = {2016},
keywords = {climate mitigation;marine navigation;tracking;underwater acoustic
communication;Arctic sensitivity;Beaufort sea;ICEX16 US Navy
Exercise;MIT;acoustic communication;acoustic sensing;autonomous underwater
vehicle;climate change;environmental adaptation;ice cover;navigation;onboard
inertial navigation;robust acoustic connectivity;submarine tracking
range;towed hydrophone array;undersea ambient noise environment;underwater
operation;warm Pacific water;Acoustics;Adaptation
models;Arctic;Ducts;Ice;Navigation;Propagation losses},
abstract = {The particular sensitivity of the Arctic to climate change is well
established, and the significance to undersea operations can be dramatic. As
part of the recent ICEX16 US Navy Exercise in the Beaufort Sea, MIT deployed
an autonomous underwater vehicle with a towed hydrophone array below the ice
cover for assessing the climate induced changes to the undersea ambient noise
environment. The safe underwater operation depended on navigation updates from
the submarine tracking range being communicated to the vehicle for fusion with
the onboard inertial navigation. However, the changes in the environment
severely deteriorated the tracking performance compared to previous
deployments. The reason was clearly associated with a previously observed
neutrally bouyant layer of warm Pacific water persistently spreading
throughout the Beaufort Sea, which severely alters the acoustic environment
with dramatic effects for both long and short range acoustic sensing,
communication and navigation. This paper describes the effects observed and
discusses how robust acoustic connectivity in this environment makes it
paramount that the manned or unmanned undersea platforms are capable of
adapting to the environment for sensing, communication and navigation.}}