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Engineering Excellence at Sea

For half a century we have demonstrated science and technology expertise and gained a national reputation. The Ocean Engineering Department serves as a resource to scientists at APL-UW, the University of Washington, other research organizations, and the U.S. Navy. We provide engineering know-how to support ambitious basic and applied research programs.

Mechanical, electrical, software, and field engineers design, fabricate, and deploy systems in the deep and coastal ocean environments, and under polar ice.

At-sea engineering

Research diving

Instrument design and fabrication

Expertise

Mechanical Design

Scientific and naval instrumentation
Autonomous undersea vehicles
Moorings, underwater structures and towers
Harsh environment packaging (polar, shipboard, and airborne systems)
Finite element analysis
Acoustic transducers
Corrosion and abrasion analysis and control

Electrical Design

Low-power, battery operated, embedded systems
High-speed data acquisition systems and signal processing
Custom analog and digital board design, PCB layout
Complex system design, electro-mechanical systems
Custom and OEM sensor integration

Software Design

Embedded systems
Remote/autonomous operation
TCP/IP instrumentation
Linux, Windows, and DOS systems
C++, Visual Basic, Labview, Matlab, and web-based languages

Field Operations

Deployment, operation, and recovery of equipment at sea and in the Arctic
Logistics and operations support in the Arctic, at sea, and remote locations
Diving — open water and under-ice

To support shallow water and under-ice field experiments, the Department has five scientific divers certified by the American Academy of Underwater Sciences and by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration for nitrox mixed gas diving.

Russ Light, Department Head
"We work with our customers to meet their needs with state-of-the-art engineering."

What's New?

Deep-Sea Rescue of Valuable Research Instruments

The subsurface mooring component of the Northwest Enhanced Moored Observatory (NEMO) had to be rescued by a ROV piloted by APL-UW engineers. Extensive crevice corrosion from a longer-than-expected deployment was behind the acoustic release failures. More >>

Cabled Observatory Imaging Sonar System

COVIS is now plugged into the NEPTUNE Canada ocean observatory to image the plumes emanating from hydrothermal vent complexes. Plume geometry, discharge rates, and linkages between seafloor hydrothermal activity with tidal cycles, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions are being measured.
More >>

APL Ice Station

APL-UW's Ocean Engineering Department constructed an ice camp to support U.S. Navy and civilian personnel on the pack ice in the Beaufort Sea. The team provided all logistics—camp construction, infrastructure, and food services—and conducted under-ice acoustic tracking and diving operations to support naval exercises during the station's month-long habitation.
More >>

Next-generation Seagliders

Seaglider is enhanced with a new acoustic sensor — an extremely low power and small recorder to make ocean ambient noise measurements and to receive very low frequency signals from ATOC sources. Efforts are under way to design and fabricate a second-generation glider that will travel faster and deeper, and carry a larger payload. More >>

In the News

A visit to an Arctic ice station

The Atlantic, Lucas Jackson

31 May 2011

Reuters photographer Lucas Jackson was invited to the 2011 Applied Physics Laboratory Ice Station, a temporary camp built out of plywood on Arctic sea ice. Jackson spent two days at the camp, watching its residents conduct tests on underwater and under-ice communications and sonar technologies.

Kitsap is warm compared with where they've been

The Kitsap Sun, Ed Friedrich

27 Apr 2011

The crew of USS Connecticut returned to Naval Base Kitsap on Wednesday after participating in Ice Exercise 2011 from March 15 to April 2. The sub crew worked with the Navy's Arctic Submarine Laboratory and the University of Washington's Applied Physics Laboratory to test new equipment and train for under-ice operations.

U.S. submarines surface in tug of war over Arctic riches

MSNBC, Andrea Shalal-Esa

25 Mar 2011

APPLIED PHYSICS LABORATORY ICE STATION, 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.