About SCICEX

The SCience ICe EXercise (SCICEX) program 

is a collaboration between the US Navy and the 

marine research community to use nuclearpowered submarines for scientific studies of 

the Arctic Ocean. Unlike surface ships, submarines have the unique ability to operate and take 

measurements regardless of sea ice cover and 

weather conditions. The goal of the program is 

to acquire comprehensive data about Arctic sea 

ice, water properties (biological, chemical, and 

hydrographic), and water depth (bathymetry) to 

improve our understanding of the Arctic Ocean 

basin and its role in Earth’s climate system.

SCICEX was officially launched in 1994 after a 

successful feasibility test in 1993 where civilian 

scientists joined Navy personnel on a submarine to 

acquire scientific data. From 1995–1999, five more 

dedicated science cruises were completed aboard 

nuclear-powered submarines. Since then, a modified approach has been taken, where some time is 

set aside for the collection of unclassified scientific 

data during otherwise classified submarine exercises (Science Accommodations Missions).

SCICEX DATA

http://nsidc.org/noaa/scicex/

data_inventory.html

SCICEX data are openly available to the public 

from the National Snow and Ice Data Center. 

• Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) 

profiles and other sensor data taken from hullmounted probes

• CTD profiles from expendable probes (XCTD)

• Chemical, physical, and biological data from 

water samples

• Sea ice underside topography and draft profiles 

from upward-looking sonar

• Bathymetry from fathometers

• Supporting navigation from the submarine’s 

inertial navigation system, and 

operational data at a nonclassified level

SCICEX

THE US NAVY

SUBMARINE ARCTIC

SCIENCE PROGRAM

November 2010

http://nsidc.org/noaa/scicex

SCICEX is supported by the US Navy, 

National Science Foundation, 

and US Arctic Research Commission.

Summary of SCICEX cruise tracks to date. 
180°

160°E

140°

120°

100°

80°

60°

40°

20°

0°

20°

40°

60°

80°

100°

120°

140°

160°

°N 08

°N 07

Alpha

Ridge

Mendeleev

Ridge

Canada

Basin

Chukchi

Borderland

Yermak

Plateau

Gakkel

Ridge

Lomonosov

Ridge

Morris Jesup

Ridge

Scientific highlights

Data from SCICEX cruises are central to improving scientific understanding of the complex Arctic Ocean environment and to defining the scope of recent changes. These data also contribute to the safety, stability, and success 

of Arctic military and civilian marine operations.

• Sea Ice Thinning. Profiles of sea ice draft 

obtained from the upward-looking sonars of 

submarines transiting the Arctic Ocean have 

provided the bulk of our current knowledge of ice 

thickness, and how it varies over the Arctic basin. 

By comparing ice draft data collected by SCICEX 

with previously published data, scientists established that sea ice has thinned significantly 

within the Data Release Area between 1950–1970 

and the 1990s.

• Bathymetry. SCICEX data contributed to the 

new International Bathymetric Chart of the 

Arctic Ocean, which led to first-order changes 

in the mapped positions and depths of major 

bathymetric features. Knowledge of seafloor 

topographic features is important for studies of 

Arctic Ocean circulation, seafloor volcanism, and hydrothermal circulation, 

and has informed a scientific 

ocean drilling expedition 

dedicated to understanding 

Arctic climate over the past 

65 million years.

SCICEX Phase II Science Plan

Part 1: Technical Guidance for Planning 

Science Accommodation Missions

http://www.arctic.gov/publications/scicex_phaseII.html

This 2010 technical 

science plan provides 

the US Navy with a 

detailed list of priorities for Science 

Accommodation 

Missions (SAMs), 

including measuring 

sea ice thickness, ocean 

hydrography, and 

bathymetry, and measuring and sampling 

ocean biology and chemistry. The plan is built 

around five sampling corridors, within an agreedupon SCICEX Data Release Area, that represent 

the most likely Navy scenarios under which SAM 

time will be available. Using the science plan as 

a guide, the Navy’s Arctic Submarine Laboratory 

will work with the operational Navy to identify 

and plan SCICEX SAM opportunities.

SCICEX Phase II

Science Plan

Part 1: tEChnICal GuIdanCE for Plann

SCIEnCE aCC

InG

ommodatIon mISSIonS

Recommended sampling corridors. The SCICEX Data Release 

Area is outlined in yellow.

International Bathymetric Chart of the 

Arctic Ocean from http://www.ngdc.noaa.

gov/mgg/bathymetry/arctic

• Warming of Atlantic Waters. Hydrographic 

data provide definitive, synoptic evidence of 

upper ocean circulation pathways, and evidence 

of warming and penetration of Atlantic water as 

it propagates along basin peripheries and ridges. 

As the SCICEX data archive has grown, it has 

played a greater role in climate and modeling 

studies to validate model results of temperature 

and salinity distributions.

• Ocean Acidification. Chemistry data show that 

the rate of CO2

 uptake by the Arctic Ocean is 

twice the average for the global ocean, leading to 

acidification of the Arctic Ocean. 

• Biological Response to Reduced Summer Ice. 

Sensor estimates of chlorophyll and oxygen 

reflect the response of Arctic productivity to 

decreased sea ice extent during summer. 

Measurements of organic material 

help to define transport pathways of carbon from shelves 

to basins. Current biological 

approaches can characterize 

the microbial communities 

that impact the ecological 

dynamics and biogeochemical fluxes of the Arctic.