Dress, B. (2023, July 24). Second US nuclear submarine arrives in South Korea amid tensions with North. The Hill. Retrieved July 25, 2023, from https://thehill.com/policy/defense/4115764-second-us-nuclear-submarine-arrives-in-south-korea-amid-tensions-with-north/
The US docked the USS Annapolis, a second submarine on an island in South Korea after provoking North Korea with the first one, USS Kentucky, which was the first nuclear submarine to visit South Korea since 1981. North Korea has been building up nuclear tension for years, so the presidents of the two countries agreed on the two submarine arrivals. North Korea responded to these docks with “a stern warning of the possibility of a nuclear response from Pyongyang” and two missile tests.
I am interested in nuclear submarines because they can stay underwater for three months without needing to surface. The nuclear reactor inside allows the submarine to stay powered for that long. I wonder how they dock at an island in South Korea and how North Korea can know that they docked a submarine there. This article relates to environmental science because submarines can have negative effects on the ecosystems around it. For example, submarines generate noise which can affect sensitive species in the water. Submarines also have the potential to pollute the water with radioactive materials if there is a leak or something of the like.
I did not know that nuclear submarines existed. That is very interesting. What would happen if the contents of the submarine were to get into the ocean water? It seems kind of dangerous.
Thank you for your reply! Actually, most submarines globally and all of the US military’s submarines are nuclear powered. Having a nuclear reactor on board a submarine allows it to stay submerged for a long time, usually three months at a time. As for waste a submarine produces, some of it is kept then recycled after emerging, while some of it is dumped into the ocean. Although that sounds bad, according to Technology.org, the waste “sinks several kilometres down and, if everything is recycled correctly, it shouldn’t cause any environmental concerns.”