Tiny and frightening-looking creatures lurking throughout our world’s oceans can wreak havoc on Navy tactical decision-makers’ ability to sense the environment or plan and chart a navigation course.

Understanding ground characteristics is part of the science and the art of geotechnical engineering, which can be useful in multiple areas, including project management and planning.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Naval Research Laboratory scientists developed Ice-tethered Acoustic Buoys to monitor the acoustic and oceanographic environment in the changing Arctic. The buoys provide critical oceanographic data to improve prediction capabilities of ocean and climate models.

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. — Scientists from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s Ocean Sciences Division are optimizing the placement of ocean gliders and the usage of glider data to improve the Navy’s ability to predict ocean conditions.

WASHINGTON — The Solar Orbiter mission will use a U.S. Naval Research Laboratory-designed and -built heliospheric camera, known as SoloHI, to provide unique perspectives and unprecedented views of the Sun’s North and South poles. The spacecraft, a NASA and European Space Agency collaboration, launched aboard an Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral, Florida, Feb. 9.