Task Force Ocean (formerly Ocean Acoustics)

- Continue Atlantis II modeling and data analysis efforts that focus on improved understanding of the complex relationships amongst a large number of ocean processes and variables that include sound propagation, ambient sound, ocean and atmosphere physical processes, and biological communities. The objectives to achieve include development of innovative tools that provide insight into uncertainty that may be suitable for transition to tactical decision aids. Objectives also include prototype development of new sensors and systems that address ocean observing and exploitation requirements from Naval Oceanography at large to the unit level, as well as novel exploitation of existing sensing infrastructure. Coupled / hybrid assimilation techniques that leverage a combination of numerical modeling and AI/ML will also be developed and tested using a variety of approaches including through the sensor collection and real time analysis. - Continue efforts centered on data collection and modeling in regions of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and proxy regions. Specific efforts will focus on developing algorithms for improved understanding of the complex relationships amongst a number of ocean, atmosphere, and bottom properties that affect sound propagation and signal detection, including ambient sound. The objectives to achieve include development of innovative tools that provide insight into uncertainty that may be suitable for transition to tactical decision aids. - Continue Anti-Submarine Warfare effort to conduct applied research developing improved Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) performance assessment models and tactical decision aids to plan ASW operations, evaluate effectiveness of ASW systems, and enable environmental adaptive system control. - Continue Sensors development to provide Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) sensor and system performance models, realistic simulations, and measures of effectiveness. This includes incorporating and exploiting critical environmental knowledge and requires coupling ocean dynamics and acoustics, ambient noise characterization in the littorals. It also includes applied research in acoustic and optical scattering and propagation characterization, through-the-sensor measurement techniques for in situ environmental parameters, measurement and prediction of uncertainty, and development of tactical decision tools. Conduct research efforts to enable environmental awareness and tactical exploitation of the environment by forward naval platforms. Activities will include the development of technologies and algorithms to incorporate in situ environmental sensing into an on-scene environmental characterization capability, inversion of sensor data to infer the local environment, and the development of capabilities to exploit the ocean environment for tactical advantage. Research efforts are informed by activities conducted by Task Force Ocean, which involve academic researchers, industry partners, and the operational Navy. - Continue Passive Sonar work to further applied research to enhance passive sonar performance capability in the Arctic environment by developing a better passive sonar performance prediction model and new acoustic ice-characterization methods. - Continue Environmental Acoustics development of ensemble prediction products that exploit improved computational speeds for both underwater and atmospheric acoustics. - Continue efforts that will lead to in-situ estimation of environmental parameters; optimized sensing and behaviors by adapting in dynamic and uncertain environments; and capturing uncertainty in system performance prediction and tactical decision aids for ASW, MIW, and Seabed Warfare. - Continue development of parameterizations to predict the contribution from breaking waves to acoustic ambient noise, quantifying the increased accuracy vice using wind speed alone. - Continue development and advances to ambient noise characterization, source property and location estimation, expansion of varied data assimilation methodologies and improvements to metrics used for such capabilities in a variety of acoustic scenarios. - Continue efforts that will lead to in-situ estimation of environmental parameters; optimized sensing and behaviors by adapting in dynamic and uncertain environments; and capturing uncertainty in system performance prediction and tactical decision aids for ASW, MIW, and Seabed Warfare. - Continue efforts centered transferring knowledge, algorithms, and tools developed in the recently completed study of the Atlantis II region of the New England Seamounts to the ongoing data collection and modeling efforts in regions of the mid-Atlantic Ridge. The comparison of these two regions will also be used to test and validate Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AI/ML) approaches to seabed and acoustic performance prediction based on statistically rigorous machine learning in regions where direct observations are unavailable. These tests and comparisons will include the Naval Research Lab (NRL) developed Global Predictive Seabed Model (GPSM).

Funding decrease from FY 2026 to FY 2027 is due reduced research in development and advances to ambient noise characterization, source property and location estimation, expansion of varied data assimilation methodologies and improvements to metrics used for such capabilities in a variety of acoustic scenarios and development of parameterizations to predict the contribution from breaking waves to acoustic ambient noise, quantifying the increased accuracy vice using wind speed alone.