Naval Postgraduate School on LinkedIn: #earthday2024 #earthday #seapower #climatechange (2024)

Last week the Congressional Research Service released an update to its “Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter (Polar Icebreaker) Program: Background and Issues for Congress” paper. This updates prior versions with summaries of three 2023 Coast Guard Congressional testimonies highlighting the results of the fleet mix analysis that concluded a need for eight to nine polar icebreakers (four to five heavy icebreakers and four to five medium icebreakers) to facilitate Coast Guard missions in the Arctic and Antarctic. It also discusses the possibility of closing a near-term need through a commercially available polar icebreaker program. (https://lnkd.in/eVeu3_3C)U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Linda fa*gan, speaking at the annual Service Navy Association Symposium last week, reaffirmed that, “Getting a Polar Security Cutter fielded is an absolute top priority for the organization.”She noted that, despite the climate change-driven reduction in Arctic ice, “In our lifetimes, we will not see an Arctic where we don’t need ice-breaking capacity.” (https://lnkd.in/g4fXnw9a)She continued, “for an Arctic country, we need to be leaned into creating on-scene presence capacity for year-round access,” she continued. “Having persistent presence year-round in the high latitudes is critical to our national security and national sovereignty.”There are several pitfalls of the current low capacity in U.S. polar icebreaking. For example, vast distances in the Arctic preclude a vessel like Healy from typically being at the right place at the right time to assist with any emergency response. More U.S. icebreakers operating in the region would increase though not guarantee the availability of an icebreaker to respond on scene. In addition, Healy has previously had sudden maintenance issues which have impacted the overall level of U.S. Arctic presence in some years. Once again, more capacity would help prevent predictable issues from inhibiting U.S. maritime polar presence.There are some great photos from the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star's current Operation Deep Freeze deployment to Antarctica here: https://lnkd.in/eUt7Qwpr

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Have you ever wondered how scientists are able to estimate past weather, water, and climate conditions? In the time before weather satellites (pre-1960) and standardized large-scale networks, observations were limited on land and scarce in the ocean. Monitoring was also heavily dependent on U.S. Naval vessels, which had a somewhat consistent presence on the seas as well as the necessary instrumentation.NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information and the University of North Carolina at Asheville teamed up to digitize and archive some aerological observations and deck logs from World War II, aiding in the effort to create a reliable record of past conditions for this time period. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/g44C4ehU

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Sea wolf Submarine got ability to purse through the iceberg The Seawolf-class submarines, which are nuclear-powered attack submarines operated by the United States Navy, are designed to operate under the ice in Arctic and Antarctic regions. While they are not specifically designed to "pursue through" icebergs, they are capable of breaking through thin ice and surfacing through ice cover when necessary.The Seawolf-class submarines feature a reinforced sail structure and a strengthened hull to withstand the pressures encountered when operating under ice. They also have specialized equipment, such as sonar systems and ice detection sensors, to navigate and detect potential obstacles while submerged beneath the ice.While the Seawolf-class submarines are capable of operating in icy conditions and surfacing through ice cover, it's important to note that they are not designed to actively pursue or break through large icebergs. Instead, their primary mission is to conduct undersea warfare and intelligence-gathering operations in a variety of environments, including icy waters.

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Earlier this month, the Atmospheric River Reconnaissance (AR Recon) program—a research and operations partnership between science and operational weather forecasting—took flight when "Hurricane Hunter” aircrafts from the Air Force Reserve 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron launched flights over the Pacific Ocean. 🛩️ Thanks to an exceptionally wet rainy season in 2022-23, California was lifted out of its perilous drought conditions. But torrential rain caused by atmospheric rivers also caused disastrous flooding. The goal of the AR Recon program is to fill in information gaps with direct observations of atmospheric rivers and improve forecasting to inform Western decision-makers regarding storm impacts, water management, and flood mitigation.Learn more about the 2023-24 AR Recon program led by Scripps, California Department of Water Resources, US Army Corps of Engineers, Marine and Aviation Operations and the U.S. Air Force Reserve 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron. ⬇️

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With tensions rising in the global geo political arena, this article looks at how the Royal Navy is developing a vision for maintaining the upper hand below the waves.https://lnkd.in/eZJfeRTk

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Earlier this week #OceanExplorer ran aground in Alpefjord in the remote North East Greenland National Park - https://lnkd.in/gC8kyHP8The Arktisk Kommando - Joint Arctic Command (JAC) dispatched the naval vessel Knud Rasmussen. In record time #DHI was able to produce our satellite-based navigational riskmap www.NANOK.xyz, mapping submerged navigational hazards for this mission. Before the JAC arrived at the scene #Tarajoq from #GINR - Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, managed to pull the Ocean Explorer free again - well done! Below #DHI demonstrates yet again how we are able to map submerged navigational hazards and de-risk Arctic maritime endeavors! Our #AI and #satellitebased state-of-the-art methodology has been developed in collaboration with the Royal Danish Navy in Greenland and specifically tailored to Arctic conditions. We map submerged reefs, tidal zones and coastlines with very high precision and we are ready to scale this mapping.See also how we include #localknowledge - https://lnkd.in/em9hJcjU#EOoatDHI #Maritimesafety #Navigation #Arctic #copernicus #opendata

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What was different about the latest Advanced Naval Technology Exercise https://lnkd.in/g9brVerH

Australian scientist Karl Kruszelnicki and the United States’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have dismissed the supernatural reputation of the Bermuda Triangle. They argue that the disappearances of ships and planes in the area are not mysterious but rather a result of probabilities.NOAA states that there is no evidence to suggest that disappearances occur more frequently in the Bermuda Triangle compared to other well-traveled ocean areas. Kruszelnicki, supported by Lloyd’s of London and the U.S. Coast Guard, asserts that the number of incidents in the Bermuda Triangle is proportional to global percentages of disappearances.NOAA attributes most Bermuda Triangle disappearances to environmental factors, such as the Gulf Stream’s volatile weather changes, complex navigation due to numerous Caribbean islands, and magnetic anomalies that may affect compass readings. Both NOAA and the U.S.Navy maintain that there are no supernatural explanations for disasters at sea, attributing incidents to the forces of nature and human fallibility. Despite some notable cases like Flight 19, Kruszelnicki emphasizes that poor weather and human error are typically responsible for incidents in the Bermuda Triangle.

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Important discussions during the kickoff events of #ClimateWeekNYC. Climate readiness is mission readiness. #ClimateAction2030 ensures that we are keeping our mission readiness at the forefront of every decision we make in the Department of the Navy.

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