Collaborative Research: Data Acquisition and Limited Data Reduction for the 1998 SCICEX Cruise

Proposal Number: OPP-9811628

Principal Investigator: Coakley, Bernard J.

Since 1995 The US Navy has provided submarines for the SCICEX Program--annual scientific cruises under the Arctic Ocean. Designed to be quiet and stable, the submarine provides as ideal support infrastructure for the efficient acquisition of underway data, particularly swath mapping and bottom profiler data. This collaborative proposal is for the operation, integration, and removal of an instrument called Sea Floor Characterization and Mapping Pod (SCAMP). Data acquisition, software development data reduction and dissemination are also included in the proposal. SCAMP aims at acquiring swath bathymetry, sub-bottom profiles, and gravity data from the Arctic Ocean sea-floor. SCAMP is now mounted under the USS Hawkbill Navy submarine dedicated to the 1998 and 1999 SCICEX cruises. The instrument is to be operated as a facility open to any qualified scientist, and will acquire data that cannot be collected by any other means in the Arctic Ocean.