Military applications of ocean models
Jan Kristian Jensen
Norwegian Defence Research
Establishment
Jan-Kristian.Jensen@ffi.no
Norwegian Defence Research Establishment
Forsvarets Forskningsinstitutt (FFI)
Ongoing projects on military meteorological & oceanographic services
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Previous projects: Metoc (2002-2006), METOC II (2006-2011)
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Current project: GEOMETOC (2011-2015)
Main focus: Operational infrastructure, products and services
for meteorological and oceanographic data
In close cooperation with met.no and the Norwegian Defence,
the Navy in particular
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The Royal Norwegian Navy:
Heavy demand for operational services
METOC = Meteorology and Oceanography
Dedicated METOC department at naval base of Håkonsvern, Bergen
– Education and training
– Formulating user demands for services
– Close and informal cooperation with met.no and FFI
– Led by Lt. Commander Jon Tore Johnsen
Some crucial, but often overlooked aspects
The Navy is not interested in oceanography per se – but:
How does conditions affect the planning and execution of
naval operations?
Important distinction!
Infrastructure plays a vital role
Information not on some web site somewhere
– but at my fingertips
Met.no is an important partner for building today’s and
tomorrows military (and civilian) infrastructure for METOC
services
– Norge Digitalt and EU’s INSPIRE directive for
information services
– Automatic data transfer from met.no to classified
military networks
– Re-using existing internet services when
implementing services at classified military network
what products should the ocean
modellers provide to the navy?
• Current
• Sound speed
• Density
• Value-added services
Current speed & direction from ocean models
• It doesn’t need to be accurate in every detail – but it must be good
enough to be of value in planning and execution of operations
• Very high resolution modelling is needed to replicate conditions in
Norway’s complicated coastal topography
• Is this beyond the capabilities of today’s state of the art ocean
modelling?
• Use in value added products (see later slide)
Sound speed
Sound speed important in submarine &
anti-submarine operations
Vertical position of the strongest sound
speed gradients is of particular interest
– Errors in ∂/∂z are very significant
– Absolute errors are not important
as long as the gradients are
replicated
– The thermocline and halocline
must be adequately represented
– Variability due to mesoscala
dynamics must be replicated
Calculated sonar performance (transmission
loss) for a given set of sonar configurations
and oceanographic conditions
Density
Density important in submarine
operations – though not as crucial as
sound speed gradient
Requirements similar to sound speed:
Absolute errors aren’t that crucial, but
location and strength of gradients are
important.
Ula-class submarine
Value added services
Leeway drift model
Probabilistic drift calculations
of objects (persons, vessels,
mines, containers) or
substances (oil)
A large number of particles
(N=500) are injected with start
points that are pertubated in
space&time relative to last
known location.
LEEWAY drift model GUI at kilden.met.no
NEW: Also backtracking
capability You find something,
where does it come from?
Currents, wind and waves are
crucial input to this service
LEEWAY model part of search and rescue module
implemented in Teleplan Maria map system
(Maritime command and control system)
what products should the ocean
modellers provide to the navy?
• Current – is state of the art modelling good enough to provide
services of value??
• Sound speed
Focus on vertical gradients
• Density
• Value-added services – like the LEEWAY model and the search and
rescue module.