The Naval Academy Ice Experiment (NAICEX) Lead PI: LCDR John Woods, Oceanography Department, US Naval Academy Collaborators (in order of institution): Son Nghiem, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology Pablo Clemente-­‐Colón, Sean Helfrich, and Bethany McDonald, National Ice Center Todd Valentic, SRI International Cathy Geiger and Tracy DeLiberty, University of Delaware Ignatius Rigor, University of Washington Lots of others… Introduction The United States Naval Academy Oceanography Department created the USNA Polar Science Program (PSP) to enhance and expand its current curriculum in the quickly changing Polar Regions. The program is interdisciplinary combing both Engineering and Science Departments at USNA. There are two elective courses providing and in depth look at the Physical Processes in both Arctic and Antarctic regions, as well as a broader Global Climate Change offering. Independent Research and Capstone courses are also offered, where undergraduate students are designing, building, testing and deploying Arctic Observing Platforms. The culmination of this course work is a field component where future Naval Officers get the experience of operating in the extremely harsh polar environment. Background During the NASA led Bromide Ozone Mercury Experiment (BROMEX) in March 2012, the USNA PSP participated in the field component out of Barrow, AK during the USNA Spring Break. Four Midshipmen (2 Oceanography, 1 Aerospace, 1 Chemistry) participated in field measurements of Sea Ice and Snow Cover, as well as being involved in the deployment of various different Arctic Observing Systems. USNA helped to temporarily deploy IceGoat1, USNA’s first Arctic Observing Buoy. Barrow proved to be the perfect location to host yearly field campaigns to support the culmination of the Midshipmen course work and instrument deployments. USNA PSP also participated in a full day of outreach while in Barrow, performing hands on STEM activities with over 100 students, hosted by the Barrow High School. The Plan We have chosen the old Navy Arctic Research Lab (NARL) as our base of operations. This site is now supported by the National Science Foundation, and has the infrastructure to support daily operations out onto the sea ice just offshore. USNA PSP will be collaborating with the University of Delaware MERLIN project, and the University of Washington AOX activities, that will allow for cost sharing of logistics support, to greatly minimize costs in a very expensive operating area. USNA PSP will be deploying 2 of its own Capstone Research Projects, IceKid 2A and 3T that will provide unique data sets that will be used by both future USNA Midshipmen projects and the greater science community. USNA PSP will also provide the manpower to will be essential to the MERLIN and AOX projects success. We also consider coordinating with larger experiments from the Naval Research Lab, Aviation Division and the NASA IceBridge team for over-­‐flights of our survey lines and instruments to enhance the scientific significance of both surface and aircraft observations. USNA PSP will also participate in multiple outreach efforts that will enhance the broader impacts of NAICEX. We are coordinating with local officials to host a Saturday Schoolyard, where local schoolchildren get involved in different research groups that are operating out of Barrow. We also plan to continue our in-­‐school STEM activities at Barrow High School, and plan to add a stop in Anchorage on the way back to USNA to introduce the USNA STEM effort to the Anchorage area schools. USNA PSP has a working relationship with the Lt Governor’s office to help maximize these efforts. Funding and Support USNA PSP is being supported by ONR Arctic Program for $50K/year via Reimbursable Funds. Approximately $25K of this money will go to support NAICEX logistics (snow machines, bear guards, trucks, fuel) and faculty travel support. Travel to Barrow is expensive, and for estimates we are using $3K/midshipmen. For a successful experiment we are requesting 5 midshipmen to assist with Instrument Deployments, Surveying of Sea Ice, Sampling of Snow, Ice, Water, and STEM Outreach. USNA PSP has requested support from: 1) USNA Midshipmen Research Office-­‐3 Students =$9K 2) USNA STEM Office-­‐1 Student $3K (Plus 1 Student for April Trip to North Pole) =$3K 3) USNA Foundation Gift Fund-­‐1 Student = $3K Bottom Line Support (1-­3 above $15K + $25K ONR Reimbursable; TOTAL = $40K) *However, we are attempting to leverage NSF support from our collaborators (UofW, UofD) who are already funded by NSF for assistance with logistics support during NAICEX to help decrease amount of ONR Reimbursable support. Table 1. NAICEX Instruments and Measurements Buoy/Instrument/Measurement Sensors Notes 1 IceKid2A* Hydrophone, SLP, First of its kind; Drifting, Near Real SST, SAT, Winds, Time, Passive Acoustic Arctic Webcam Capable Sensor 2 IceKid2T** SLP, SST, SAT, Will be deployed at AOX site Winds, Webcam 3 MERLIN Sea Ice Measurements High Precision Sea Ice Survey, Ice Thickness Survey Profiles, Ridge/Sail Mapping Equipment, **IT Investment Purchases: Digital Camera Survey Equipment, Ruggedized Photogrammetry, Laptop, LIDAR** Electromagnetic ~$40K from USNA MIDN Induction Sensor, Research Request UAVw/LIDAR Degrades Experiment and Rental costs ~$5K 4 Arctic Observing eXperiment Over 10 Buoys to In support of US-­‐Interagency Arctic Deployments deploy Buoy Program (USIABP) AOX project. Will be a 1 year experiment, with Real Time data flow. 5 Satellite Imagery Analysis Various NASA Near Real Time Analysis for and various remote sensing products, National/Naval provided via special support Ice Center request to Naval Ice Center and Products collaboration with NASA JPL and GSFC through the NASA BROMEX IDS project. Notes: * Possible Helicopter Support Needed ** This instrument will be placed at AOX Buoy Farm at DOE/ARM site.