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Marra G, Fairweather DM, Kamalov V, Gaynor P, Cantono M, Mulholland S, Baptie B, Castellanos JC, Vagenas G, Gaudron JO, Kronjäger J, Hill IR, Schioppo M, Barbeito Edreira I, Burrows KA, Clivati C, Calonico D, Curtis A. Optical interferometry-based array of seafloor environmental sensors using a transoceanic submarine cable. Science 2022; 376:874-879. [PMID: 35587960 DOI: 10.1126/science.abo1939] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Optical fiber-based sensing technology can drastically improve Earth observations by enabling the use of existing submarine communication cables as seafloor sensors. Previous interferometric and polarization-based techniques demonstrated environmental sensing over cable lengths up to 10,500 kilometers. However, measurements were limited to the integrated changes over the entire length of the cable. We demonstrate the detection of earthquakes and ocean signals on individual spans between repeaters of a 5860-kilometer-long transatlantic cable rather than the whole cable. By applying this technique to the existing undersea communication cables, which have a repeater-to-repeater span length of 45 to 90 kilometers, the largely unmonitored ocean floor could be instrumented with thousands of permanent real-time environmental sensors without changes to the underwater infrastructure.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Marra
- National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Teddington, UK
| | - D M Fairweather
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | | | - P Gaynor
- National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Teddington, UK
| | | | - S Mulholland
- National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Teddington, UK
| | - B Baptie
- British Geological Survey, Edinburgh, UK
| | | | - G Vagenas
- National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Teddington, UK
| | - J-O Gaudron
- National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Teddington, UK
| | - J Kronjäger
- National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Teddington, UK
| | - I R Hill
- National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Teddington, UK
| | - M Schioppo
- National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Teddington, UK
| | | | - K A Burrows
- National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Teddington, UK
| | - C Clivati
- Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica (INRIM), Turin, Italy
| | - D Calonico
- Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica (INRIM), Turin, Italy
| | - A Curtis
- School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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