APL-UW Presents - APLIS 2011

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Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLIS) and U.S. Navy Ice Exercises (ICEX) 2009

U.S. Navy "Allhands Update" documentary video on ICEX'11

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APLIS, Arctic Ocean. The United States is staging high-profile submarine exercises in the Arctic Ocean as evidence mounts that global warming will lead to more mining, oil production, shipping and fishing in the world's last frontier.

The Arctic is changing and growing in scientific and strategic importance. Navy submarines come to APLIS for exercises in under-ice operations.

The Arctic is only going to grow in importance. And it's incredibly crucial for us to understand how the Arctic operates - how we can exist in the Arctic. That's one of the great things ICEX and this ice camp does.

The Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station (APLIS) crew supported the 2011 Navy Ice Exercises about 150 n mi from Prudhoe Bay on the Beaufort Sea during the month of March. Despite four days of severe weather early in the ice station deployment efforts and challenging ice conditions, the habitable camp was established in record time, about 10 days. The APLIS 2011 site was determined on 1 March, full-time occupation began on 3 March, operations commenced and then the camp was completely demobilized on 1 April.

2011 marks the first time acoustic tracking range operations were performed with a new digital tracking system. After initial setup and comparison tests of both digital and analog systems, the analog system was shutdown and all tracking during the U.S. Navy's Ice Exercise '11 was performed on the digital system.

Two of the U.S. Navy's newest submarines were present at ICEX: USS Connecticut (Seawolf Class) and USS New Hampshire (Virginia Class). The purpose of the ICEX was to test and develop submarine under ice operations and procedures in the challenging arctic environment.

Maximum camp population was 50 people; the station supported two VIP weekends, including the visits of Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus and Rear Admiral Michael McLaughlin. Science experiments performed by researchers from the Naval Postgraduate School, Naval Research Laboratory, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution were also supported by the APL-UW team.