Climate Clues in the Silent Depths

Data from Britain’s submarines improves understanding of climate change

Royal Navy submarines have been defending our shores for decades. But could some of the data they routinely collect also help protect us against climate change? As part of the LWEC-accredited Arctic Research Programme, a new initiative called SEATS (Submarine Estimates of Arctic Turbulence Spectra) aims to find out.

“The Arctic plays a key role in global climate”, says Dr John Allen of the National Oceanography Centre.

“It’s essential to develop a better understanding of what may happen if more of the water there is covered by ice for less of the year, in terms of physical, biological and other changes to the ocean itself and their knock-on effects. Exposure to the wind can affect many vital processes in large bodies of water.”

A potential goldmine of data is available. For years, Royal Navy submarines have taken a host of scientific readings from the water they pass through. Moreover, when patrolling the Arctic Ocean, they divide their time between ice-covered and ice-free water. Comparing data from the two types of water could yield insights into how this whole environment may change in future as sea ice reduces. That could, in turn, improve understanding of how the global climate might change and so inform adaptation decision-making.