Evaluation of Rutter Sigma S6 Ice Navigation Radar on USCGC Healy during Arctic Shield 2014

• Main Author: Balsley, Alex
• Other Authors: COAST GUARD NEW LONDON CT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2015
• Subjects: Snow; Ice and Permafrost; Active & Passive Radar Detection & Equipment; *ARCTIC REGIONS; *RADAR; *SEA ICE; FLEETS(SHIPS); NAVIGATION; NAVIGATORS; THICKNESS; ARCTIC SHIELD; HEALY; ICE NAVIGATION; PROCESSORS; RUTTER; Arctic; Northrop; Grumman; Ice; permafrost; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA615477; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA615477

The Coast Guard (CG) fleet is currently outfitted with Northrop Grumman/Sperry s BridgeMaster radar systems, which provide the basic information that navigators need in order to engage in a safe cruise. In the Arctic environment, however, the CG radar system is challenged when limited visibility and the presence of varying types of ice are encountered. Although the CG radar is able to detect the presence of ice to some degree, it is not able to roughly estimate the ice s thickness or clearly define the ice edge that separates an ice floe from a patch of open water. The United States Coast Guard Research and Development Center explored this issue by evaluating the Rutter Sigma S6 Ice Navigation Radar through comparison with the existing BridgeMaster radar system on USCGC Healy during Arctic Shield 2014. The data collected indicate that the Ice Navigation radar is an improvement over the CG radar while the ship is in presence of multiple ice formations. The Ice Navigation radar, with its enhanced fidelity, was able to: clearly define ice floes; determine their relative thickness; detect pressure ridges; and identify patches of open water with ease. The original document contains color images.