Subsea internet cables could help with earthquake detection

Internet connections crisscrossing the seafloor might be used to detect earthquakes and tsunamis, as well as monitor how climate change affects ocean circulation.

According to the UK’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and its collaborators, these telecom cables might be employed as a massive array of deep-sea scientific sensors.

The technology was tried on an optical fibre link between the United Kingdom and Canada by researchers.

The research was published in Science Magazine.

“70 per cent of the Earth’s surface is water, yet all seismic stations are on land because installing permanent sensors on the bottom is too complicated and expensive,”

According to Dr Marra, vibrations, pressure, and temperature variations impact the speed of light as it travels down the cable by a very little amount, which extremely sensitive instruments can detect.

The earthquakes and “ocean signals,” such as waves and currents, were detected by the researchers using a 5,860km EXA Infrastructure optical-fibre link between Southport, Lancashire, and Halifax, Canada.

Individual spans of cable between repeaters – devices that help enhance the signal – were used as separate sensors by the scientists.

“If we apply this technology to a huge number of cables,” Dr Mara explained, “we may turn this underwater infrastructure into a massive array of detectors for earthquakes, ocean currents, and other phenomena.”

Also Read

Bushra Ansari holds a star-studded dinner at her place

Bushra Ansari is a well-known and legendary senior Pakistani actress in the...