Comment All Kidding Aside... (Score 2) 129
I don't know much about military submarines, but I have spent over 20 years working with, on, and in research submersibles. Maybe I can shed a little light on the subject of underwater email.
For research purposes, there are lots of uses for tranfering data between a submerged sub and the surface. After all, one of the things research is involved in is collecting data. For some of the data, real time analysis is important.
F'rinstance, the geodetic position of the sub is of interest to more than an enemy. If you are collecting information about a wellsite for an oil company, it would be nice to know that you are on their lease. Because GPS, Loran, or any other RF-based surface navigation signals don't travel underwater, the sub can't know its geodetic position without a little help from the surface. Sea-mail (a term I coined for underwater email) can provide that help.
Another way that sea-mail can help is to reduce misunderstandings between the bottom and the surface. Voice communicatons underwater are so bad that 2400 BPS sounds good by comparison. If the folks in the sub encounter something that needs to be discussed with the surface, text on a screen is less prone to mistakes in interpretation than poor conversation. Especially when the topic of conversation is homophores or suckopods or other things that techs on the sub aren't familiar with.
Finally, comm from a moving sub is a natural evolution from what underwater acoustic modems were developed for: getting data from the bottom to the surface without wires. If you want to know the temperature, visability, or whatever conditon on the bottom, you have to place a sensor there. To collect the data, either a wire or an acoustic link must connect the sensor with the surface. If you've ever strung a few miles of wire off a moving platform, you can see why folks are putting money into the alterative.
Getting email to submerged subs is a good thing. I hope it continues to improve until it becomes as reliable as wired commo up here where the sun shines.
For research purposes, there are lots of uses for tranfering data between a submerged sub and the surface. After all, one of the things research is involved in is collecting data. For some of the data, real time analysis is important.
F'rinstance, the geodetic position of the sub is of interest to more than an enemy. If you are collecting information about a wellsite for an oil company, it would be nice to know that you are on their lease. Because GPS, Loran, or any other RF-based surface navigation signals don't travel underwater, the sub can't know its geodetic position without a little help from the surface. Sea-mail (a term I coined for underwater email) can provide that help.
Another way that sea-mail can help is to reduce misunderstandings between the bottom and the surface. Voice communicatons underwater are so bad that 2400 BPS sounds good by comparison. If the folks in the sub encounter something that needs to be discussed with the surface, text on a screen is less prone to mistakes in interpretation than poor conversation. Especially when the topic of conversation is homophores or suckopods or other things that techs on the sub aren't familiar with.
Finally, comm from a moving sub is a natural evolution from what underwater acoustic modems were developed for: getting data from the bottom to the surface without wires. If you want to know the temperature, visability, or whatever conditon on the bottom, you have to place a sensor there. To collect the data, either a wire or an acoustic link must connect the sensor with the surface. If you've ever strung a few miles of wire off a moving platform, you can see why folks are putting money into the alterative.
Getting email to submerged subs is a good thing. I hope it continues to improve until it becomes as reliable as wired commo up here where the sun shines.
