HG S2 (Intel Bot) Posted November 21, 2011 Report Posted November 21, 2011 Ungh. He strikes; again. "What our task force is here to do is really to understand what the impacts of climate change, especially in the arctic, will have on Navy's operations, said Rear Adm. David Titley, Navy oceanographer and director of task force climate change. "We look at climate change simply as changing geography, and we work on, above and under the water and the ocean every day, so we need to understand as that environment is changing, how that will impact our naval operations. So, really it's all about readiness for us." Where exactly have poorly researched, fraud infused, socio-religious, neo-paganism made its way in to the readiness matrix again? The pathetic thing is - the climate has always been changing. Was, is, and will. What is different now? Simple; politics. What a self-licking ice cream cone. I guess when you are an O-8 doing an 0-6's job, you have to stir up something. View the full article
Mgellis Posted November 21, 2011 Report Posted November 21, 2011 You know, I really cannot get too upset about the Navy studying climate change and thinking about how it might affect them. The climate is always changing. But in recent years, whatever the cause (it might be us...it might be something else...as far as the Navy and Harpoon go, it doesn't really matter), it seems to be changing more quickly than usual. Quite apart from immediate practical concerns like how changes in water temperature, currents, etc. might affect submarine operations, when the admiral in the quote above said it was a matter of geography, that's going to be part of the long term situation. As climate changes, agriculture changes, availability of fresh water changes, coastal flooding changes, etc. Some of the next wars are going to be fought over oil. But some of them are going to be fought over fish and fresh water. And if climate change does increase the number of really big storms, floods, etc., such disasters can easily destabilize some countries...consider what's going on in Europe right now with their economy, what if there a major disaster like some freak monster hurricanes hitting France and Spain, killing hundreds and doing billions in damage, added to the mix? And how would that disaster affect politics around the world? Climate change does not affect the oil supply (although it may make it harder or easier to get the oil out of certain places). It does affect how much people have to eat and drink. Hungry people do desperate things. Anyone who ignores such fundamentals of behavior does so at their own risk; I am glad the Navy seems to be at least thinking about how the problem might affect them.
Steven Posted November 21, 2011 Report Posted November 21, 2011 Curious. Is the Navy doing NOAA's job or are they studying acoustics of water that is different in temerature and salinity from 50 years ago? How much of a temperature and salinity change would their have to be to negatively affect sub warfare? Mgellis, their is already a war over fish. Price of Atlantic salmon is crazy here in California. Im about to boycott Red Lobster.
CV32 Posted November 21, 2011 Report Posted November 21, 2011 How much of a temperature and salinity change would their have to be to negatively affect sub warfare? The speed of sound underwater increases with increases in temperature, salinity and depth. The formula for finding that speed is: 4388 + (11.25 × temperature (in degrees Fahrenheit)) + (0.0182 × depth (in feet)) + salinity (in parts per thousand) = speed of sound underwater (in feet per second) Consistently low temperatures in a body of water make for consistent sonar performance. So, if water temperatures start rising in the Arctic, and melting ice decreases the salinity, sonar conditions there are going to change, probably for the worse.
Steven Posted November 21, 2011 Report Posted November 21, 2011 How much of a temperature and salinity change would their have to be to negatively affect sub warfare? The speed of sound underwater increases with increases in temperature, salinity and depth. The formula for finding that speed is: 4388 + (11.25 temperature (in degrees Fahrenheit)) + (0.0182 depth (in feet)) + salinity (in parts per thousand) = speed of sound underwater (in feet per second) Consistently low temperatures in a body of water make for consistent sonar performance. So, if water temperatures start rising in the Arctic, and melting ice decreases the salinity, sonar conditions there are going to change, probably for the worse. For the worse meaning ASW platforms are going to have their work cut out for them and with subs getting quieter finding one just expotentially got more difficult I assume. Lots more passive sonar r and d on the way perhaps?
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