by Dr Jerry Lamb and Joe DiRenzo III
The Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory: Navy Captain Victoria Cassano, serving as a subject for a research dive in the Bahamas, looks at the sound attenuation provided by a standard 7 mm wetsuit hood.
A Little-Known Lab
Makes A Big Impact! The new emphasis on world-wide asymmetric threats, with submarines operating more frequently within the littoral, has created the demand for new ways to address longstanding health and safety issues in today’s Submarine Force. Leading the way in examining these concerns is a little known research facility located at SUBASE New London – the Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory (NSMRL). Consider the following scenario: With their nuclear submarine disabled by a collision at sea and one compartment isolated, the boat’s crew awaits rescue in shallow littoral waters off a hostile country. Unable either to surface or to operate many key systems, the crew needs to make time-critical decisions that will affect both their 22
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endurance and survival. Throughout the submarine, the atmosphere is continually being “scrubbed” of carbon dioxide by hanging “curtains” containing enhanced lithium hydroxide. Meanwhile, the senior person present in each compartment is using a conventional PDA to calculate the time remaining before escape becomes mandatory, with input data from new gas analyzers recently installed onboard. Eventually, the decision is made that escaping from the submarine is unavoidable. Fortunately, this crew will wear the new Submarine Escape Immersion Equipment (SEIE) – full-body survival suits with builtin life rafts – and their chance of making it to the surface and surviving there are better than ever.
All of these items, from the analytical software in the PDA to the new SEIE suits have been developed or evaluated for use by the researchers at NSMRL. For over 75 years, NSMRL has been the Department of Defense (DOD) Center for Undersea Biomedical Research. Established in the closing days of World War II to conduct mission-critical studies in night vision, sonar sound discrimination, and personnel selection for the Submarine Service, the laboratory’s efforts in submarine, diving, and surface biomedical research support its mission to protect the health and enhance the performance of today’s warfighters. Over the years, NSMRL has sponsored an impressive array of high-impact innovations. For example, the laboratory was responsible for the SEALAB underwater habitat, development of the International Orange color for visibility, and the Farnsworth Lantern Color Vision test. In addition, NSMRL scientists, have used the hyperbaric chambers at their facility on SUBASE New London to develop many of the saturation and diving decompression tables in use today. NSMRL also researched many current sonar displays and developed a psychological screening test for prospective submariners. Today, NSMRL continues to address critical issues for the undersea community, with emphasis on submarine survival and rescue, submarine medicine, diver bio-effects, hearing conservation, and situational awareness. This in-house research is pursued in close association with Submarine Force and fleet elements, such as the newly established Submarine Learning Center, Submarine Development Squadrons 5 and 12, and the Naval Submarine School.
