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ocean's volume, in contrast to aircraft and satellites which are 

 limited to collection from the ocean's surface. In addition, they 

 offer more continuously available measurements than can be provided 

 by surface ships. Submarines can collect data on polar ice drafts 

 (ice depth) and underside roughness. These data, collected over 

 time, can be used to estimate ice thickness, a key indicator of 

 global climate change. Small scale continuous measurements of 

 ocean salinity, temperature, and chemical constituents can be used 

 to improve mixing models form which ocean pollution dispersion 

 patterns can be predicted. 



Army Marine-Related Research Efforts 



The Army is also actively involved in this marine-related 

 research. Our Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory has 

 several initiatives underway which support both the global change 

 research and marine navigation. 



In conjunction with the Navy and other research institutions, 

 the Army is conducting research on the physical, electromagnetic, 

 and optical properties of sea ice. The work is focusing on the 

 causes of certain remote sensing signatures from satellite 

 observation and how these signatures evolve with time as the ice 

 grows and decays . The goal of these studies is to make better use 

 of satellite and airborne remote sensing technology to determine 

 ice conditions. The emphasis is to distinguish ice types, surface 

 conditions, and possibly ice thickness. Improved remote sensing of 

 sea ice will greatly assist in furthering the capability to monitor 

 the potential effects of climate change. Improved remote sensing 

 technology will also greatly enhance deep draft navigation through 

 ice, improve ice forecasting models, and will assist the location 

 and monitoring of offshore structures. 



Under a SERDP project the Army is analyzing a historical data 

 set of submarine ice draft profiles to provide information valuable 

 for climate change analyses. These data will allow a quantitative 

 description of the ice thickness over much of the Arctic basin of 

 which we know very little at present. These investigations are of 

 direct application to climate change as they will produce a 

 baseline of ice thickness and its trends for the past 35 years. 

 The ice thickness data are especially useful for the verification 

 of Government and private ice forecasting models . Deep draft 

 Arctic navigation can benefit from improved ship routing derived 

 from the thickness climatology through the identification of heavy 

 and light ice conditions. 



Many of these DoD systems show promise of improving our 

 knowledge and understanding of the oceans and we are actively 

 investigating the viability of these dual use applications. 

 However, these systems and databases were developed and fielded to 

 fulfill specific military needs and missions and they continue to 

 do so. Both the intelligence community and DoD are currently 

 investigating the issues associated with a broader release of 

 environmentally relevant classified data. These reviews cover 

 classified data collected or provided by satellites, aircraft, and 



