sible with a stable platform for launch and recovery free of the air-water 

 interface and wave action, yet positively controlled by the surface support 

 vessel. 



As a byproduct of this deep ocean effort, handbooks have been issued on 

 lubricants and compensating fluids, electric cable technology, vehicle elec- 

 trical drive systems, electrical insulation, rotary seal selection, electrical and 

 electronic circuit-interrupting and protective devices, and design and selec- 

 tion of advanced underwater optical-imaging systems. 



ARPA Marine Science and Technology 



The ARPA sponsored four major programs in marine science and tech- 

 nology during 1971. 



Development of stable floating platforms was continued with emphasis 

 on lower cost and greater mobility for a wide variety of military missions, 

 ranging from research to operations. The construction of a 15,000-square- 

 foot, 500-ton-payload platform of the column stabilized type (four legs and 

 two modules) is planned for application to research on large sonar arrays. 

 Research related to the use of inflatable members and decking for plat- 

 forms has been initiated. 



As a part of the Arctic Operational Technology Program, design specifi- 

 cations were completed for an unmanned arctic research submersible and 

 its support system for launch, control, tracking, and recovery. This is a 

 fiberglas hull, blunt-nosed, torpedo-shaped device about 9 feet long and 

 2 feet in diameter capable of excursions to 1,500-foot depths and sustaining 

 a speed of 3 knots for a 10-hour period. It will follow a preprogramed 

 track, but may be remotely controlled by means of acoustic telemetry links. 

 Primary use will be for collection of under-ice profiles in the Arctic Basin 

 and marginal sea-ice zone, together with temperature and salinity data 

 along its track. Field tests will be conducted in the Arctic during 1972 in 

 conjunction with the Arctic Ice Dynamics Joint Experiment (AIDJEX). 



Another arctic effort is to develop and demonstrate the technology re- 

 quired to exploit the arctic military potential of the Surface Effect Vehicle 

 (SEV). The SEV is the only known surface vehicle with the potential to 

 traverse the variety of arctic surfaces (ice, open water, mixed ice and water, 

 snow, frozen tundra, and swamplike thawed tundra) which exist during 

 all or part of the year. Two major segments of the program presently 

 underway are arctic environment definition and vehicle and subsystem tech- 

 nology development. 



Finally, ARPA's Ocean Monitoring Program is directed toward develop- 

 ing the capability for monitoring natural and manmade phenomena on the 

 surface and within the sea and seabed. Included are electromagnetic tech- 

 niques for surface phenomena, acoustic and optical technology for under- 

 sea sampling, and use of submersibles. 



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