The WAVE of the Future
"Science Monitoring and Reliable Telecommunication (SMART) Cables"
"Science Monitoring and Reliable Telecommunication (SMART) Cables"
In 2017, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric (NOAA) put forth the US Tsunami Warning Act calling for the “integration of tsunami sensors into Federal and commercial submarine telecommunication cables.” This partnership is designed to leverage existing technologies and provide critical insights regarding climate change, ocean rise and disaster warnings.
"SMART" sensors are placed on undersea cable repeaters and send a continual stream of information about ocean pressure, temperature, acceleration, etc. to specific observatories for observation and analysis. Scientists are able to monitor climate changing forces and read key early warning signals for impending disasters like tsunamis and earthquakes.
With millions of miles of submarine cables criss-crossed across the oceans of the world, there is a unique opportunity for science and telecom to join forces and have a greater understanding of the complex forces of nature.
- A standard telecommunication system includes an undersea cable with a "repeater" at intervals.
- A Repeater is an electronic device that receives a signal and retransmits it. Repeaters are used to extend transmissions so that the signal can cover longer distances or be received on the other side of an obstruction. Undersea cable have repeaters approximately every sixty kilometers (37.2 miles).
- By adding environmental sensors to repeaters, we could have access to a global network of real-time data for environmental threats and disaster mitigation.
- An early-warning system for tsunamis could save lives, particularly for developing countries.
- Tsunami waves often arrive less than thirty minutes after offshore earthquakes. Within that window is an opportunity for business, government, and science to merge to develop beneficial solutions, like SMART Cables, for the saving of lives and habitats.
- To bring this concept to fruition, the international Joint Task Force of three United Nations agencies – the International Telecommunication Union, the World Meteorological Organization and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (ITU/WMO/IOC-UNESCO JTF), established in 2012, is working towards incorporating environmental monitoring sensors into trans-oceanic submarine cable systems.
- The TSUNAMI WARNING, EDUCATION, AND RESEARCH ACT OF 2017 (TWERA) authorizes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to consider integrating environmental observing technologies, such as SMART cables, into the United States tsunami warning system.
- TWERA proposes integrating tsunami sensors into commercial and Federal undersea telecommunications cables as a cost-effective solution for the NOAA to explore.
- There are many applications for SMART CABLES, including: emerging technologies such as modeling, remote sensing, geospatial technology, engineering and observing systems - including the integration of tsunami sensors.
Sources:
Howe, B. M., J. Aucan, and F. Tilmann (2016), Submarine cable systems for future societal needs, Eos, 97,https://doi.org/10.1029/2016EO056781. Published on 09 August 2016.
Howe, Bruce, and Kate Panayotou. “Harnessing Submarine Cables to Save Lives.” UNESCO, 10 Nov. 2017, en.unesco.org/courier/2017-october-december/harnessing-submarine-cables-save-lives.
“Tsunamis: What Can the Ocean Floor Tell Us about the next Disaster?” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, www.noaa.gov/stories/tsunamis-what-can-ocean-floor-tell-us-about-next-disaster.
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Bruce Howe, PhD:
Research Professor, Department of Ocean and Resources Engineering: School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) • UH Mānoa
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