With the end of the Cold War, NATO countries have embarked on transformation initiatives within their militaries to address the new security realities of the 21st century. One of the realities that has not changed is the threat posed to modern navies by sea mines. Global proliferation of sea mines, both older variants and advanced designs, has continued to grow and presents a unique challenge to maritime security for NATO. As NATO forces engage in more expeditionary operations, they must be prepared to counter the danger posed by mines from state and non-state actors. This includes ensuring that vital sea lines of communication (SLOCS), strategic chokepoints throughout the world, commercial ports and naval bases remain open and uncontested. In order to meet the challenge of the 21st century mine threat, NATO must continue to develop balanced MCM capabilities that satisfy expeditionary requirements (such as OMCM for in-stride operations) while maintaining effective dedicated forces to conduct sustained MCM operations against more traditional mining operations.

The Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI) and the satellite Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) provide detailed information about the environment U.S. Naval forces choose to operate in. In recent years environmental conditions have been a driving factor in preventing the detection of underwater objects like mines. Suspended sediments are an environmental condition of interest. Remote sensors provide an opportunity to detect suspended sediments in a region prior to the commencement of operations and better prepare the force while reducing time required to complete operations. Monthly data sets collected using MODIS, from February 2005 to February 2006 show variations in weather patterns in the Mississippi Bight that cause the persistent presence of suspended sediments in certain areas of the Mississippi Bight. Major storm events such as hurricanes alter the location that suspended sediments persist in this region during the hurricane season. MODIS with 250m-pixel resolution is capable of detecting large-scale suspended sediment plumes while CASI with 1m-pixel resolution is capable of detecting very fine suspended sediment filaments as well as providing early warning of possible mine locations. As the mine warfare fleet diminishes in size, CASI and MODIS coupled with current sensors may provide an increase in detection capability while reducing the workload of mine detection ships. Continued research and study of suspended sediment transport during hurricane seasons may provide more information about how the environment changes.

Thesis (M.S. in Meteorology and Physical Oceanography)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2009. / Thesis Advisor(s): Chu, Peter. "September 2009." Description based on title screen as viewed on November 5, 2009. Author(s) subject terms: Mine Warfare, periodicity, route survey, oceanographic, key parameters, resurvey integration model, survey model. Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-56). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.S. in Meteorology and Physical Oceanography)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2002. / Thesis advisor(s): Peter Chu, Peter Fleischer. Includes bibliographical references (p. 443-444). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S. in Meteorology and Physical Oceanography)--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2006. / Thesis Advisor(s): Peter Chu. Includes bibliographical references (p. 301-303). Also available online.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / Naval operations are highly dependent upon environmental conditions that can either adversely affect successful completion or hinder the safety of personnel. Each warfare community has defined environmental thresholds and operating limits that restrict the execution of any intended maneuver. As the warfare environment continues to shift from open ocean to the littoral, environmental prediction and modeling efforts of the shallow water surroundings need to be developed in order to support these operations. A hydrodynamic model, Water Quality Management and Analysis Package (WQMAP), has been developed by Applied Sciences Associates, Inc. that is designed specifically to provide accurate littoral environmental prediction. WQMAP is one of several hydrodynamic models used operationally by the Naval Oceanographic Office (NAVOCEANO) to predict currents and water elevations in littoral regions. Implementations of shallow water hydrodynamic models in foreign waters are usually data-starved for model forcing and validation. In a series of studies, NAVOCEANO intends to model various bays within the continental United States, where sufficient data exists, to study the sensitivity of lack of data on model results. This study will utilize WQMAP to design a hydrodynamic model in San Diego Bay to predict currents in order to investigate the impact of grid resolution on model results, and to provide proper current predictions for Fleet training and operations. / Lieutenant, United States Navy

This research concerns the design and analysis of different Side-Looking Sonar experiments in order to satisfy different operational requirements. The different designs and analysis have been done via computer simulation. Side-Looking Sonar (also known as side-scan sonar) is known for very high quality, high resolution, ocean bottom imaging. Hence, it is used for bathymetric surveys, commonly called seafloor mapping. It is able to rapidly survey large ocean areas for bottom and suspended sea-mines or other kinds of threats. Another operational aspect of these systems is that they allow autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to conduct operations, mostly in shallow water and near land. Thus Side-Looking Sonar can be a very useful device in littoral warfare operations. This research has defined the basic parameters that rule the operation of a Side-Looking Sonar and, furthermore, analyzed various aspects that affect the performance of these parameters. Special focus was given to the various operational requirements and conditions that a designer or a user may encounter in realistic situations. Toward that end, many numerical examples are presented. Moreover, the research has tried to indicate the various problems that may arise when a Side-Looking Sonar operates in its near-field region and suggests certain solutions. The active sonar equation and its factors were explained and were evaluated for a realistic example of mine detection as well.

The Navy's Impact Burial Model (IMPACT35) predicts the cylindrical mine trajectory in air and water columns and burial depth and orientation in sediment. Impact burial calculations are derived primarily from the sediment characteristics and from the mine's three-dimensional air and water phase trajectories. Accurate burial prediction requires that the model's water phase trajectory reasonably mimics the object's true trajectory. In order to determine what effect varying the shape to more closely match real-world mines has on the shape's water phase trajectory, Mine Drop Experiment II was conducted. The experiment consisted of dropping four separate types of scaled shapes (Sphere, Gumdrop, Manta, and Rockan) into a water column, and the resultant falls were filmed from two nearly orthogonal angles. Initial drop position, initial velocities, and the drop angle were controlled parameters. The Sphere and Gumdrop shapes tended to have smooth arcing drop paths. The Manta shape dropped much more slowly than the Sphere or Gumdrop shapes. The Manta had a tendency to either fall in a spiral with its bottom parallel to the bottom or on its side in a twisting motion. The Rockan tended to either flip or swoop as it entered the water but then settle in a slow spin with its primary length parallel to the bottom. The dispersion of all four shapes at the selected depth of 2.5 m was wide and variable. The data collected from the experiment can be used to develop and validate the mine Impact Burial Prediction Model with operational, non-cylindrical mine shapes.

Thesis (M.S. in Mechanical Engineering)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2004. / Thesis advisor(s): Anthony J. Healey. Includes bibliographical references (p. 57-59). Also available online.

Thesis--Würzburg. / Includes bibliographical references.