Massachusetts Institute of Technology
There is a lot of activity beneath the vast, lonely expanses of ice and snow in the Arctic. Climate change has dramatically altered the layer of ice that covers much of the Arctic Ocean. Areas of water that used to be covered by a solid ice pack are now covered by thin layers only 3 feet deep. Beneath the ice, a warm layer of water, part of the Beaufort Lens, has changed the makeup of the aquatic environment.
For scientists to understand the role this changing environment in the Arctic Ocean plays in global climate change, there is a need for mapping the ocean below the ice cover.
Credits: Credit: Troy Barnhart, Chief Petty Officer, U.S. Navy Caption: The research team prepares to deploy an autonomous underwater vehicle built by General Dynamics Mission Systems to test their navigational concept. Credits: Credit: Daniel Goodwin LCDR, USN Caption: After a series of setbacks and challenges due to the unforgiving conditions in the Arctic, the team was able to retrieve the autonomous underwater vehicle and successfully prove their navigational concept worked. Credits: Credit: Dan McDonald, General Dynamics Mission Systems Caption: A team including Professor Henrik Schmidt, MIT-WHOI Joint Program graduate students Daniel Goodwin and Bradli Howard, members of the Laboratory for Autonomous Marine Sensing Systems, and the Arctic Submarine Lab, traveled to the
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