The objective of this topic area was to demonstrate and validate unexploded ordnance (UXO) Detection, Classification, and Localization (DCL) systems; UXO burial and mobility models; or methods to remediate military munitions at underwater sites. Proposals should also exploit the advances accomplished in earlier MR SERDP programs. Many sites affected by munitions have depths less than 5 meters, although water depths down to 35 meters are of concern. Aquatic environments include ponds, lakes, rivers, estuaries, and coastal or open ocean areas. Munitions of interest range from small projectiles and mortars to large bombs. Technologies proposed could address only a subset of the entire range of potential munitions or environments. These include but were not limited to:

• Acoustics
• Optical Sensors
• Electromagnetic Induction
• Magnetics
• Mobility and Burial
• Clutter Analysis
• Munitions Recovery
• Munitions Disposal
• Underwater Geolocation
• Navigation and Positioning

Geophysical Description of Live Sites. Effective and efficient use of detection, localization and classification systems requires a detailed knowledge of the geophysical environment in which they will operate. Demonstration and validation of methods, techniques, and models to provide that information and extend advances made in SERDP is required. Attention to scales of typical ordnance is required to anticipate the clutter conditions of the sites. Areal scales of sites range from 100’s to 1000’s of km2. Some locations will, in addition to spatial scale variability, have hydrodynamic variability, requiring a time-based element of condition(s) change.

Wide Area and/or Detailed Survey Techniques. SERDP and ESTCP have developed a full range of physics-based sensors and will continue to support transition to operational status in live sites. Systems are needed to cost-effectively survey large (kilometer-scale) areas to identify concentrations of munitions. Tools are also sought to provide evidence an area may have been used infrequently or may not have been used for munitions-related activities. The program will continue to monitor sensor research progress for novel, innovative advances that have potential for use.

Cost-Effective Recovery and Disposal Methods. Demonstration of innovative methods to recover munitions cost-effectively and safely from the underwater environment are encouraged. Current practices employing divers for manual retrieval of targets are dangerous and expensive. Demonstrations should focus on recovery in the shallow water environment where munitions are likely to be encountered by the public (to depths routinely accessed by recreational divers) and should address explosive safety issues. Demonstration of robotic methods for retrieval and removal are encouraged. Demonstration of cost-effective, safe, and environmentally acceptable remediation techniques are also needed for underwater munitions that cannot be moved due to explosive safety concerns and where blow-in-place operations underwater can significantly impact marine life and place chemicals into the human food chain.

DCL in Cluttered Environments. Techniques are needed to address cluttered environments (i.e., environments with high metallic anomaly densities). Improved techniques initially established in SERDP, to correctly identify munitions located adjacent to, or in close proximity to other anomaly sources that are within the range of detection of the sensor are emphasized. Related to this need, the demonstration and validation of automated techniques to identify areas where localization or classification is not feasible (e.g., highly cluttered areas or saturated response areas) are also requested.

Mobility and Burial of Munitions. The Munitions Response Program has successfully supported research in SERDP involving the burial and/or mobility of underwater munitions which are controlled by sediment properties, UXO characteristics, and hydrodynamic processes (waves and currents). Validation of some individual process models, especially liquefaction, the transition point of stationary to mobile behavior, and subsequent direction and rates of migration are still required. Demonstrations and validation of unified burial, migration and reemergence models (e.g., UnMES) at well-characterized demonstration sites and transition of these UXO behavior models to live site demonstration sites is required. These demonstrations should provide validation of hydrodynamic models and understanding of how seafloor and UXO characteristics affect UXO mobility and burial behavior to facilitate the transition of these models to the user community.

SPECIAL INTEREST TOPIC
ESTCP has issued one topic area of general interest through a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) to the private sector:

• Innovative Technology Transfer Approaches

DoD investigators are encouraged to submit proposals through the DoD submittal process that responds to this BAA topic area.