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By
GORDON I. PETERSON and DAVID E. WERNER
Gordon I.
Peterson is the senior editor of Sea Power. Lt. Cdr. David E.
Werner is the public affairs officer for the Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific
Fleet.
One week after departing her homeport of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on
18 March 1999, the Sturgeon-class nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Hawkbill
transited the Aleutian Islands and dove beneath the ice of the central
Bering Sea during a final and historic eight-week mission of Arctic
research. Ahead, the daunting navigational hazards of the Bering Strait
and the Chukchi Sea awaited the USS Hawkbill's commanding officer,
Cdr. Robert H. Perry, his 124-man crew, and a small embarked team of
civilian scientists. SCICEX-99, the fifth and final Navy-civilian
Submarine Arctic Science Expedition, was underway.
Perry's initial
destination was a small temporary camp located approximately 1,000 miles
beyond the Bering Sea on Arctic drift ice 150 miles north of Point Barrow,
Alaska--the so-called APLIS, or Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station.
There, support personnel from the Navy's Arctic Submarine Laboratory and
civilian scientists awaited the submarine's arrival and the opportunity to
embark additional researchers.
The 1999
expedition marked Hawkbill's second cruise in support of a
five-year collaborative research and data-collection program sponsored by
the Navy's submarine community, the Office of Naval Research (ONR), and
the National Science Foundation. The 292-foot submarine also had
participated in the highly successful SCICEX-98 the previous summer.
Perry, a 1981 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, also was in command for
that expedition.
Wealth
in Three Dimensions
A veteran of
several previous Arctic voyages, the Hawkbill had been specially
outfitted for the 1998 expedition with new sensors and systems that
dramatically increased her ability to operate safely under ice, map the
Arctic seabed, and collect scientific data and samples. A new Seafloor
Characterization and Mapping Pods (SCAMP) system enabled the Hawkbill
to record an unprecedented amount of three-dimensional bathymetric data
about the Arctic Ocean while the ship's profiler collected subbottom
traces up to 200 meters below the sea floor. As the expedition unfolded,
SCAMP provided a wealth of significant information to research scientists
about the origin, formation, and composition of the Arctic seabed.
A detailed,
nine-phase science plan guided the Hawkbill for data-collection
operations throughout the cruise. Most of the scientific tests and
experiments planned for SCICEX-99 entailed an examination of the Arctic
Ocean's geophysical, chemical, and biological properties. Scientists also
were keenly interested in updating their knowledge of, and data related
to, ocean warming in the Arctic region--a growing concern.
During their
submerged transit to the Arctic Ocean, the Hawkbill's crew faced
the challenging conditions of an Arctic winter--similar to those found on
the submarine's initial polar cruise 26 years ago. Since the
nuclear-powered USS Nautilus made the first submerged transpolar
crossing in 1958, U.S. submarines have infrequently transited the
comparatively shallow passages north of the Bering Sea in late winter when
they are covered by ice. The first to do so, USS Sargo, was damaged
in a collision with the ice in the Chukchi Sea in 1960--narrowly averting
contact with the bottom and possible disaster.
As the Hawkbill
made good on her northerly track at five knots, the ice overhead formed
into clusters of small floes aligned in strips several hundred yards wide.
These floes compressed rapidly into solid pack ice with an average
thickness of six feet. The remaining transit to the APLIS was, in Perry's
words, "a real challenge" for the entire crew.
The Hawkbill
cruise was unusual in another respect. The submarine carried an urn
containing the cremated remains of Dr. Waldo K. Lyon--a Navy civilian
scientist for 55 years, champion of Arctic submarine operations, and the
founder and longtime director of the Navy's San Diego-based Arctic
Submarine Laboratory. Lyon's family had requested the Navy to transport
his ashes to the Arctic for burial at sea. Coincidentally, he had deployed
on the Hawkbill in 1973 during the ship's first Arctic cruise.
"A
White-Knuckle Experience"
As the Hawkbill
slowly progressed further north, the water shoaled quickly to an average
depth of only 160 feet. Operating conditions also were complicated by the
thick mantle of ice overhead. Several times, indications of massive ice
ridges 800 or so yards ahead--sometimes extending to a depth of 100
feet--would suddenly appear on the submarine's forward-looking ice-finding
sonar.
Perry ordered his
submarine, usually cruising at a depth of about 125 feet, to hug the ocean
floor a scant 20 to 30 feet off the bottom. With the submarine measuring
52 feet between the bottom of her hull and the top of her sail, there were
times when the ice cover would pass as close as 20 feet overhead--or
closer. Conditions worsened in the Chukchi Sea as walls of ice blocked the
submarine's path--requiring expert undersea navigation, constant
maneuvering, and a light touch on all controls.
Hawkbill
crewmen later described the transit as "a real white-knuckle
experience." Many of them said it was the most difficult shiphandling
challenge they had ever faced--one that, to complete safely, required
everyone on watch to perform flawlessly minute by minute--for days on end.
Lt. Rick J. Stoner of York, Pa., the ship's navigator and operations
officer, expressed the views of many when he said, "There was no room
for error on anyone's part."
Four watch
sections rotated duties throughout the transit. In main control, the
officer of the deck, junior officer of the deck, diving officer of the
watch, and navigator received expert assistance from Jeffrey L. Gossett
and W. Randy Ray. Gossett, the Arctic Submarine Laboratory's head of
operations and a veteran of 21 under-ice cruises, had embarked with Ray to
serve as ice pilots during the submarine's Arctic deployment. Their
counsel, honed through years of experience in the Arctic's remote and
unfamiliar reaches, was invaluable.
Variations
(caused by fresh water) in the Arctic Ocean's water density and in unusual
temperature differences at different depths affected maneuverability as
the Hawkbill sought to maintain neutral buoyancy. The seasoned
chief petty officers serving on each watch section as "chief of the
watch" assisted ship-control efforts by maintaining the ship at
neutral buoyancy despite the many variations affecting her trim.
For the ship's
ice-finding sonar to work properly--and to avoid grounding below or
colliding with the ice above--it was necessary to maintain depth within
one foot and with "zero angle" on the boat. There could be no
deviation in the submarine's horizontal plane as it glided slowly beneath
the ice. The young enlisted helmsmen and planesmen had to hold the
submarine precisely on depth throughout frequent and sometimes radical
maneuvers both to avoid ice ridges and to locate passages through or
around them. "The crew handled the whole evolution very calmly and
professionally to maintain focus--it was a total team effort for eight
days," Perry told Sea Power.
Talent,
Teamwork, and Training
As the submarine
progressed carefully and steadily north, the officer of the deck
concentrated on ice-avoidance sonar readings--giving the helmsman frequent
orders to weave the boat through a maze of "ice keels"--massive,
jagged ridges that extend randomly, and at greatly varying depths, below
the ice. The Hawkbill's navigation team plotted the boat's position
meticulously along her sometimes circuitous path as the diving officer of
the watch carefully monitored the depth of water beneath the keel. From
the time the submarine submerged in the Bering Sea on 25 March until her
surfacing at the APLIS ice station, there was no opportunity for the team
to obtain a navigational fix.
As always in such
operations, the submarine's sonar technicians served as the "eyes and
ears" of the ship. Throughout the transit, the Hawkbill's
OD-161 Topsounder high-frequency sonar was operated continuously to
measure ice draft--the depth below sea level to which the ice extends.
Readings were recorded electronically on the ship's Digital Ice Profiling
System and on hard-copy analog rolls. A petty officer constantly monitored
the readings of the overhead ice features so that, in the event of an
emergency, the submarine could surface immediately either in open water or
through thin ice.
Navigation and
the ability to handle the ship safely were further complicated in the
Chukchi Sea by the paucity of data in the nautical charts issued to the Hawkbill
at the beginning of the cruise. Unlike other areas of the world ocean,
there has been no comprehensive oceanographic mapping of the polar basin.
Surprises were unavoidable. "The chart indicated a nice, flat bottom
at 200 fathoms," Stoner related, "but as we were going over that
area it fell off to 1,300 fathoms--a very deep valley that did not ...
[show] on our chart!" Such valuable observations and measurements,
recorded by the Hawkbill's SCAMP system, will be used to update
nautical charts of the region.
Despite these and
other challenges, the Hawkbill arrived at her ice station
rendezvous a full day ahead of schedule. Her early arrival allowed the
APLIS scientists to embark immediately for additional valuable research.
Months of training--at sea and in classrooms ashore--had prepared the Hawkbill's
crew for the adventure and challenge of the Arctic under-ice transit to
APLIS. Smooth teamwork and leadership at every level also played a key
role, Perry said. Chief Sonarman Clint D. MacLaren of Lancaster, Pa.,
noted that he had five new men in his division of 15 Sailors. "These
are five new guys who never deployed before," he said, "but they
are really hard workers--we had a lot of studying and qualifications to
get in--and they gave 110 percent."
For Lt. Cdr.
Michael G. Badorf, of Lititz, Pa., teamwork also was paramount during his
duty as officer of the deck. "When it really comes down to it,"
he asserted, "it was getting the watch teams together, knowing what
was going on, and just working together--talking all the time and having a
lot of confidence in each other."
Master Chief
Electrician's Mate Gary Olivi, of Orlando, Fla.--the submarine's
"chief of the boat"--was equally impressed by the performance he
observed. "The absolute professionalism and calm way the crew handled
the ship will always stand out in my mind," he said.
The Hawkbill's
commanding officer also offered high praise for his men. "I have
never been so proud of any crew, and their efforts have proved what a
well-trained submarine crew can accomplish," Perry said. "They
functioned as such a team I can't believe it--as far as I am concerned,
they are all true American heroes," said the Aiea, Hawaii, resident.
Ice
Camp Lyon: Safety and Survival
Once clear of the
Bering Strait and the Chukchi Sea's perilous ice ridges, the Hawkbill
started implementing the expedition's science plan during the transit to
an ice station that had been established by the staff of the Navy's Arctic
Submarine Laboratory (ASL) and the Applied Physics Laboratory of the
University of Washington (APL-UW). Capt. Jeffrey A. Fischbeck, ASL's
director and the officer in tactical command for SCICEX-99, headed up
operations from this small collection of heated tents and prefabricated
plywood shelters--named Ice Camp Lyon in honor of the distinguished Navy
scientist. ASL supports the fleet as the Navy's center of excellence for
submarine-related Arctic operations, development support, and technical
expertise.
Ice Camp Lyon
served as both an on-ice research center and the logistics hub supporting
the Hawkbill and the civilian-scientific community during the
submarine's first four phases of the science plan. The Navy has operated
ice camps for more than 20 years in support of Arctic research, but the
SCICEX-99 station, which facilitated much of the important research
carried out during the expedition, was the first one built in five years.
Fischbeck said the decision to establish the camp also provided valuable
experience to his staff of 16 uniformed and civilian personnel. "The
camp provides important training, and it sharpens the skills of people who
have done it in the past--as well as develops the skills of people who
have not done it before," he said.
Safety and
survival guidelines were repeatedly emphasized to all personnel during the
course of ice-camp operations. With temperatures averaging 20 to 30
degrees Fahrenheit below zero, there was high risk of frostbite when
gusting winds lowered temperatures to the equivalent of 50 to 70 degrees
be-low zero--temperatures in which unprotected flesh can freeze in less
than 30 seconds. A two-person "buddy rule" was mandated for
excursions on the ice, and an armed safety escort accompanied all
scientific parties beyond the camp's perimeter--as a precaution against
polar bears.
The ice camp
provided the Navy and civilian scientists with additional flexibility and
opportunities during the 1999 expedition. Scientific specialists rotated
aboard the Hawkbill on several occasions--greatly increasing the
scope of scientific research. Four discrete Arctic scientific-research and
experimentation projects also were conducted at the ice station that would
not otherwise have been possible.
One significant
experiment, the Arctic Climate Observations Using Underwater Sound,
involved the measurement of underwater sound to observe the temperature
structure of the Arctic Ocean from a 20-Hz. signal transmitted by an
autonomous source installed by Russian scientists working near Franz Josef
Land in October 1998. Dr. Peter N. Mikhalevsky, principal investigator of
the project and the ice camp's science director, measured the Arctic
Ocean's average temperature along the signal's 2,800-kilometer propagation
path.
Breaking
the Ice for Science
Aided by images
from her upward-looking video display, the Hawkbill was guided by
ice-camp personnel to an area of thinner ice approximately 400 yards from
Ice Camp Lyon. Accompanied by the prolonged groans and cracking of
breaking ice, the submarine's black-steel sail rose slowly and
majestically from beneath the surface on 3 April--shattering the frozen
stillness of the Arctic landscape. Ice was quickly cut and shoveled away
from the submarine's after hatch to permit Dr. Margo Edwards, a geologist
from the University of Hawaii who served as the expedition's chief
scientist, and her team of scientists to embark for a week's survey of the
Chukchi Cap region.
An elaborate
schedule of scientific research and data-gathering was planned for the
remainder of the Hawkbill's Arctic expedition. The primary
objectives involved mapping of the Arctic Ocean floor, analyses of ancient
plate boundaries and other geophysical aspects of the Lomonosov Ridge,
measurement of carbon compounds and nutrients in waters off Alaska's north
coast, and mapping of the Arctic Ocean's climatology to measure ocean
warming.
According to the
Navy, "Scientific understanding of the Arctic Ocean bottom lags that
of the rest of the world by about 40 years." Through her
participation in two SCICEX expeditions, the Hawkbill has helped
immeasurably to remedy this lack of knowledge. In addition to the
submarine's near-constant water sampling during under-ice operations,
SCAMP provided researchers with graphic representations of the sea floor
along a track up to four miles wide on either side of the submarine. The
1999 expedition found evidence that a large ice sheet had covered and
eroded shallow areas in the Arctic Basin approximately 10,000 years ago.
"That was very exciting," said Edwards.
Many scientists
were especially interested in data related to ocean warming. The polar
oceans are home to one of the prime processes governing the earth's
climate--processes critical to ocean circulation worldwide and to the
regulation of earth's weather patterns. During the past decade, the Arctic
has changed significantly. Current estimates are that the mass of Arctic
ice has decreased by 20 percent, the near-surface sea-water temperature in
the central Arctic Basin has increased by over 1 degree Centigrade, and
ocean salinity has decreased by nearly one percent.
Thomas F. Albert,
the senior scientist with Alaska's North Slope Borough's Department of
Wildlife Management, told Sea Power that sea ice did not fully form
on the waters north of Point Barrow in 1998 until the middle of
December--three months later than residents of the northernmost point in
the United States could remember.
On 3 May,
following a highly detailed geophysical survey of the Lomonosov Ridge,
Perry surfaced the Hawkbill at the North Pole--the last U.S.
submarine that will do so during the 20th century. Complying with the Lyon
family's wishes, the crew of the Hawkbill conducted a solemn
burial-at-sea ceremony to honor the world-renowned scientist. His ashes
were laid to rest in the Arctic region that he had labored a lifetime to
understand. Following a short progress report by hand-held satellite
telephone to Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jay L. Johnson at the
Pentagon, Perry ordered, "Dive!"
The Hawkbill
again slipped beneath the Arctic surface. Ahead, two weeks of SCICEX-99
research remained before the submarine would depart from beneath the
Arctic ice and transit into the Norwegian Sea--the submarine's first
venture into the Atlantic Ocean in her 28-year commissioned history.
Following well-deserved port visits in England and Florida, the Hawkbill
continued her homeward-bound voyage to Pearl Harbor via the Panama
Canal--and the conclusion of an epic and historic final cruise.
"An
Explosion of Information"
The Hawkbill's
unique capabilities and accomplishments as an undersea-research platform
were repeatedly extolled by SCICEX researchers and senior Navy officials.
In the past, Arctic research was conducted from icebreakers, on aircraft,
or at Arctic ice camps, and was therefore considerably limited in scope.
But nuclear-powered submarines can operate autonomously anywhere in the
Arctic Basin that depth permits. Their speed, stability, and inherent
silence make them ideal scientific-research instruments. "The
capabilities of nuclear-powered submarines have enabled an exponential
increase in scientific knowledge about the Arctic Ocean reaped through
SCICEX," concluded Rear Adm. Paul G. Gaffney, the chief of naval
research.
"I cannot
overstate the importance of Navy submarines for this type of research--it
has been a tremendous boon for Arctic science," Mikhalevsky said.
"Over the past five years we have been able to cross the entire
Arctic Ocean along the same path to record and observe changes in the
properties of the Arctic's water mass--including observations of large
temperature increases at a depth of 200 to 700 meters."
Mikhalevsky,
corporate vice president of Science Applications International
Corporation, said that these changes were not known prior to the SCICEX
expeditions, and that their discovery has stimulated new efforts to
determine their relationship to global climatic change and/or natural
oscillations in the Arctic Ocean.
Rear Adm. Malcolm
I. Fages, director of the Submarine Warfare Division in the Office of the
Chief of Naval Operations, was similarly impressed. "Although it is
still extremely early to start claiming results, a few accomplishments are
very exciting," he said. He said that the Hawkbill's mapping
survey of the Northwind Rise was completed in unprecedented detail, and
that acoustic experimentation carried out during the expedition showed
unambiguous evidence of continued warming of the Arctic Ocean. Whether
such warming is a periodic, cyclical pattern--or part of a long-term trend
with profoundly adverse implications for the global environment--remains
the focus of ongoing scientific research around the world.
Edwards also was
emphatic in describing the scientific achievements of SCICEX-99. "We
have increased what we know about the bottom of the Arctic Ocean by two or
three orders of magnitude--literally. It is just an explosion of
information compared to what we had before," she asserted. In her
judgment, years of work will be required to analyze and assess the results
of the five SCICEX expeditions.
End
of an Era
The Hawkbill's
climactic Arctic expedition marks both the end of an era and the closing
of a historic chapter in the Navy's cooperative efforts with the civilian
scientific and academic communities. According to Rear Adm. Albert H.
Konetzni Jr., commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet's Submarine Force, the
Navy's series of cooperative undersea scientific expeditions with civilian
researchers has come to an end for the foreseeable future--primarily
because there are so few submarines now available for such missions.
"We have gone from as many as 96 submarines in 1990 to a projected 50
submarines by the year 2003. Planners are already being asked which valid
missions the remaining submarines can fulfill and which missions will go
unfulfilled," Konetzni said.
Fages sees a high
possibility for continued Navy collaboration with the civilian scientific
community, however. While a submarine cruise specifically dedicated to
scientific research does not seem likely for some time to come, data
collection on submarine platforms will be conducted as opportunities
present themselves. "Information and scientific-research samples
would be provided to field experts for analysis upon the submarine's
return to port," Fages said.
ONR also will
continue to support Arctic research. Dr. Dennis Conlon, ONR's program
manager for SCICEX-99, emphasized that it is only the SCICEX collaborative
Navy-civilian program that has ended, but that ONR (and other Navy offices
and agencies) will continue making important contributions to Arctic
research through a number of other programs. "We must work hard to
know exactly what kind of a future the Arctic holds," Conlon said,
"because the effects are worldwide--and dramatic."
In Arctic
Passages, his enthralling account of 20 years of Arctic research and
exploration, archeologist John Bockstoce stated that anyone who has ever
ventured into the Arctic will bear its indelible tincture, however vivid
or faint, for the rest of his or her life. The crew of the Hawkbill
now joins the long line of Navy men and women who have had that unique and
unforgettable experience. The impact of their Arctic sojourn will be felt
for decades to come.
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