US Navy submarines to gather science data

Nature : The temperature and salinity of the Arctic Ocean are among the science data that US Navy submarines will collect under a newly resurrected program. When it ran in the 1990s, the Science Ice Exercise (SCICEX) program allowed scientists aboard nuclear submarines that sailed beneath the Arctic ice cap. In its second version, scientists won’t join the sailors, but they will gain prompt access to data that the subs collect. Like the scientists, the navy is interested in learning more about the Arctic environment, especially climate-induced changes. Two scientists involved with the program describe its goals in a Q&A with Nature‘s Daniel Cressey.