Investigators at the Polar Science Center of the University of Washington will purchase a quantity of Submarine Ship launch eXpendable CTDs (SSXCTD) and fabricate a boom for deploying other scientific instruments from a U.S. Navy submarine. The Navy is providing the civilian academic ocean science community with a unique, first-time opportunity to make scientific measurements under the ice in the Arctic Ocean from a nuclear powered submarine. This cruise is scheduled for the late summer and is a prototype for potential future submarine science cruises. SSXCTDs are submarine- launched counterparts to XCTDs that are deployed from research vessels. These free-falling probes measure seawater temperature and conductivity as a function of depth. Use of SSXCTDs are crucial to the planned physical oceanography program on the submarine. Making ocean science measurements, especially under the ice cap, from an operational submarine has long been of interest to civilian investigators. This summer's cruise represents an opportunity to test the feasibility of using operational submarines for basic scientific research.
