Littoral Geosciences and Optics

The Littoral Geosciences and Optics program (ONR 322LO) supports basic and applied research for expeditionary warfare, naval special warfare, mine warfare and antisubmarine warfare in shelf, near-shore, estuarine, riverine and riparian environments, with a particular emphasis on robust 4D prediction of environmental characteristics in denied, distant or remote environments.

• The program undertakes comprehensive field experiments around the globe to develop and validate predictive models and test remote sensing technologies in support of assuring access to the maritime battlespace.
• The products of the program investments, transitioned to the operational forecast centers, provide warfighters with a common environmental operating picture to enable safe and effective mission planning and execution.
• Motivation for new, or greater, understanding of any one particular process/dynamics or proposed modeling improvement should be tied to shortcomings in operational forecasting capabilities.

Research Concentration Areas

• Developing remote sensing capabilities for quantifying dynamics (geophysical variables), in coastal and riverine environments, above and below the sea surface and canopy
• Pursuing new methodologies and/or observing technologies (6.1), or utilization of organic, through-the-sensor techniques which can increase battlespace awareness (6.2)
• Understanding and modeling coastal and riverine dynamics
• Understanding and modeling optical processes in these areas

Topics of interest are motivated by ongoing and future Navy and Marine Corps planning and operational needs.

Studies by individual investigators and collaborative teams are often undertaken in conjunction with other programs at ONR, including:

• Physical Oceanography
• Marine Meteorology and Space Weather
• Ocean Engineering and Marine Systems
• Ocean Acoustics

Focused, field-oriented research programs are undertaken as departmental research initiatives (DRIs) or as Multidisciplinary University Research Initiatives (MURIs), each of which typically has 7-15 investigators, a five-year timeframe and substantial funding for field studies and modeling. Procurement of Remote Sensing imagery can be supported, much like ship costs, at no cost in proposals.

Research Challenges and Opportunities

• New remote sensing tools and algorithms that can be used to initialize forecast models in distant, remote and/or denied areas.
• Consider how dynamics vary/function as a system over O (1-50) km, across different shore types (rocky, sandy, and/or mud) and at event scales (e.g., Nor’easter, rain event, and hurricane) and/or winter conditions. Is this variation captured by the current suite of ocean-atmosphere-moveable bed models?
• New methodologies and/or observing technologies which are:
  • nimble, cost-effective, rapidly re-locatable, or will offer bold new insight into littoral dynamics, or
  • utilize sensors on operational platforms (termed organic) in ways which increase battlespace awareness or can be used to map the maritime domain while idle.