Marine Advanced Technology Education

Abstract Seabed unexploded ordnance that resulted partly from the high failure rate among munitions from more than 80 years ago and from decades of military training and testing of weapons systems poses an increasing concern all around the world. Although existing magnetic systems can detect clusters of debris, they are not able to tell whether a munition is still intact requiring special removal (e.g. in situ detonation) or is harmless scrap metal. The marine environment poses unique challenges, and transferring knowledge and approaches from land to a marine environment has not been easy and straightforward. On land, the background soil conductivity is much lower than the conductivity of the unexploded ordnance and the electromagnetic response of a target is essentially the same as that in free space. For those frequencies required for target characterization in the marine environment, the seawater response must be accounted for and removed from the measurements. The system developed for this study uses fields from three orthogonal transmitters to illuminate the target and four three‐component receivers to measure the signal arranged in a configuration that inherently cancels the system's response due to the enclosing seawater, the sea–bottom interface and the air–sea interface for shallow deployments. The system was tested as a cued system on land and underwater in San Francisco Bay – it was mounted on a simple platform on top of a support structure that extended 1 m below and allowed the diver to place metal objects to a specific location even in low‐visibility conditions. The measurements were stable and repeatable. Furthermore, target responses estimated from marine measurements matched those from land acquisition, confirming that the seawater and air–sea interface responses were removed successfully. Thirty‐six channels of normalized induction responses were used for the classification, which was done by estimating the target principal dipole polarizabilities. Our results demonstrated that the system can resolve the intrinsic polarizabilities of the target, with clear distinctions between those of symmetric intact unexploded ordnance and irregular scrap metal. The prototype system was able to classify an object based on its size, shape and metal content and correctly estimate its location and orientation.

At the MATE Center, Jill's role is to work closely with industry to ensure that educational

Due to continuous decline of water discharge in southern Iraq, the need arises to use ground water as alternate source for water required for different purposes in which it suppose to be clean and free of pollutants such as, petroleum hydrocarbons, heavy metals, pesticides, …, etc. Within this study, ten well’s of water spread in Southern part of Iraq, two in each site represented by Safwan (1 and 2), Zubair (3 and 4), Khor Al-Zubair (5 and 6), Al-Burjisiah (7 and 8), and Shuaibah (9 and 10) were investigated to estimate their contents of heavy metals. The collected water samples from the selected well’s were analyzed for total heavy metals: Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn, on a monthly basis for the period Jan. - Dec. 2015. Atomic absorption spectroscopy technique was adopted for the determination of heavy metal concentrations. All studied metals are present in the water of wells’ spread in Southern part of Basrah Province of Iraq. Certain metals present in little amounts (µg/l) in the range 0 - 0.5649 for Pb, 0 - 4.3909 for Ni, 0 - 32.0170 for Cu, and 0 - 8.5486 for Cd, while other metals were higher in the range 0 - 107.9698 for Mn, 4.336 - 312.1651 for Fe, and 11.982 - 439.3581 for Zn. Fe and Zn are exist in all wells’ and during all periods of study. As a mean values the trends of heavy metals in well’ water of southern Iraq is as follows: Zn>Fe>Mn>Cd>Cu>Ni>Pb. High concentrations of studied heavy metals were recorded in wells’ no. 7&8 at Burjisiah and 9 &10 at Shuaibah due to proximity to fields of oil production and transportation. Moreover, high levels of heavy metals in the wells’ waters at studied, area were recorded during the rainy months: Jan., Feb., Mar., April as well as May and June which indicates that rain water is a major source for pollution by heavy metals in the ground water at Southern Iraq.

The greatly enhanced oxidation ability of dilute aqueous nitric acid (0.10-2.0 mol L(-1)) containing bromide and iodide salts as well as chloride salts has been examined based on the dissolution kinetics of pure gold at 30-60 °C. It has been found that bromide salts are more effective than chloride salts in gaining the ability of dissolving gold in dilute aqueous nitric acid solution. At 60 °C, a piece of gold-wire (ca. 20 mg) is dissolved in 20 mL of as low as 0.10 mol L(-1) HNO3 solution containing 1.0-5.0 mol L(-1) NaBr and the dissolution rate constant, log(k/s(-1)), increases linearly (from -5.78 to -4.52) with the increasing NaBr concentration. The addition of organic solvents, such as acetonitrile and acetic acid, causes acceleration of gold dissolution in LiBr and NaBr solutions. With increasing MeCN contents, for instance, the log(k/s(-1)) value of 0.10 mol L(-1) HNO3 solution containing 2.0 mol L(-1) NaBr increases linearly from -5.30 to -4.61 at 30% (v/v) MeCN. The bromide salts affect the gold dissolution rate constant in the order of KBr < NaBr < LiBr < CaBr2. With increasing NaI concentration (0.20-3.0 mol L(-1)), some acceleration in log(k/s(-1)) of 0.50 or 1.0 mol L(-1) HNO3 solution has been observed; however, the slope of acceleration as the function of NaI concentration is much smaller than that of NaCl or NaBr. The gold dissolution ability has been examined also for nitrous acid containing chloride and bromide ions at 35 °C. The NaNO2 solution containing twice or more amounts of HX (X = Cl, Br) gives the maximum efficiency for gold dissolution, according to the log(k/s(-1)) values of the mixed solutions of NaNO2 (0.10-2.0 mol L(-1)) and HX of various concentrations. The influence of oxidation by dilute nitric and nitrous acids on the gold dissolution is discussed from the standpoint of the redox potentials in "modified" aqueous solutions and not of the changes in the activity coefficients of ions.

This paper presents a guide to identify the proper classification of weight data for USN ships using the Navy’s current Expanded Ship Work Breakdown Structure (ESWBS) system. ESWBS is a functional classification system that is used for weight reporting purposes. It is used on all USN ships as well as many other shipbuilding programs as a method by which all weight estimates are functionally organized. Also, ESWBS is used as an aid to developing ship cost estimates. With the introduction of newer technologies, materials and constructions practices in ship designs, the proper weight accounting has become more difficult and somewhat subjective. Therefore, this paper provides guidance and clarification on the proper weight classification of elements in a weight estimate with a focus on the newer technologies and practices.

Certification is a way to recognize that an individual has demonstrated professional competence and integrity in an occupational field. The Marine Advanced Technology Education Center undertook a study from September 2006 to June 2009 to assess whether there is a need for a voluntary certification program for oceanographie professionals (CPOP) in the U.S. The study, funded by NOAA, was motivated in part by the rapid growth in recent years of operational oceanographie activities and ocean observing systems, and the increased public attention to ocean issues. The goals of the project were to explore the pros and cons of certification programs in similar fields of expertise; collect and analyze data on the opinions about the need for, and structure of, a CPOP; report the analysis results; and make recommendations to the oceanographie community in order to: improve ocean-related education, enhance professional development for oceanographie professionals, help meet national ocean-related workforce needs, and assist users of oceanographie products and services in making well-informed decisions.

There has been rapid growth in recent years in operational oceanographic activities, especially in association with the growth in ocean observing systems. At the same time, the attention given by the public to ocean issues has greatly increased. These factors along with the increasing complexity and multidisciplinary nature of oceanography suggest that the need for certification of oceanographic professionals may also be increasing (e.g., in association with coastal development, natural disasters, ocean pollution, declining fish stocks). Certification is a way to recognize that an individual has demonstrated professional competence and integrity in an occupational field.

The US Navy Landing Craft, Air Cushion (LCAC) engines, like all marine gas turbines, use water washes to preserve performance and increase reliability by removing salt and other contaminants from the compressor. Due to the severity of the operating environment and unfavorable operations base, water washing can pose risks to the LCAC engines. Galvanic corrosion, crevice corrosion, insufficient contaminant removal and incompatibility among seal materials, contaminants and wash solvents can outweigh the benefits of water wash. The US Navy has incorporated water wash procedures and materials such as silicon rubber seals and glass fiber and Teflon bushings to mitigate these risks.