Is there someone out there? NATO improves sonar skills of Arctic submarines June 15, 2024

The NATO Alliance research vessel is operated by the Italian navy Photo: Nioucha ZAKAVATI / AFP

By AFP -Agence France Presse

Is there someone out there? NATO improves sonar skills of Arctic submarines

Tromso (Norway) (AFP) - In the icy waters of the Arctic, NATO scientists are dissecting sound waves to improve the West's ability to track Russian submarines, as global warming alters underwater acoustics.

“The only reliable source of information is acoustic waves,” Gaultier Real, chief scientist on board the NATO Alliance research vessel, told AFP during a stopover in the northern Norwegian city of Tromso on the eve of an expedition to the Barents Sea.

The oceanographic ship, operated by the Italian navy and visited by AFP, is transporting the Royal team of scientists to the polar front, where the Atlantic and Arctic waters meet.

The scientific mission aims to understand how climate change, which is warming the Arctic faster than the rest of the planet, is affecting the movement of underwater sound waves.

Over three weeks, the ship will spread sounds underwater, which will be picked up by its hydrophones, or microphones at sea. The data will then be analyzed.

Noise pollution

There are strict rules to protect the fragile Arctic ecosystem.

If the team hears animals, they will stop work immediately.

"Marine mammals use sound to communicate, so if any animals are here, you'll be able to hear them. If we hear them, we stop transmitting,” said Real, a senior acoustic scientist at NATO's Center for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) in Italy.

Oceanographic instruments will be submerged to measure temperature, salinity, and water pressure, parameters that affect the speed with which sound travels through water.

These parameters are changing due to the warmer climate, Real said, making it more complex to predict and track the trajectory of sound waves.

In addition, as the sea ice melts, the Arctic soundscape is also changing.

The once silent world of the Arctic no longer exists, due to the increasing presence of people and the breaking up of sea ice. And in the future, the noise produced by the growing number of ships sailing the newly opened sea routes.

“Everything needs to be reassessed, especially in terms of salinity and ocean temperature,” said Real.

The knowledge and data have strategic value when it comes to developing sonars capable of detecting enemy submarines.

They also make it possible to manufacture autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), identify surface ships by the sound of their propellers, and facilitate mine clearance.

A recent article in the Texas National Security Review noted that climate change would affect submarine detection capabilities.

“Climate change could lead to an increase or decrease in the intensity of acoustic signals radiated or reflected by submarines,” said the researchers, who carried out studies in the North Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

“As a result, distinguishing a submarine's signal from ambient noise could become more difficult or easier.”

Submarine hunting

Real said that it is too early and “impossible” to draw general conclusions about the impact of climate change on spearfishing.

Especially as the parameters change dramatically from one region to another.

“The only thing we can do is adapt the systems (...) so that they are accurate in predicting how sound propagates in this constantly changing environment and create reliable models,” he said.

The threat to the West lurks nearby.

In the Arctic, “the Russian navy (...) has developed significant capabilities in recent decades,” explained CMRE director Eric Pouliquen via videolink from La Spezia, Italy.

Their “capabilities are very modern and have not been hampered by the conflict in Ukraine. They are very reliable, technologically and militarily,” he said.

The region is home to the powerful Northern Fleet, the largest in the Russian navy, which includes several submarines equipped with nuclear warheads.

This explains why NATO has made this project a priority.

“We're also looking at how NATO, especially the naval forces, will have to operate in the North as the ice cap melts,” said Pouliquen.

“The different sea conditions and often the extreme weather conditions that we can predict at extreme levels strongly affect people's equipment and the way we operate,” he added.

Russia has also invested in military equipment that allows it to operate in extreme cold.

© 2024 AFP