Subsea cables could transform ocean monitoring

Read the full story from the University of Edinburgh.

Using stretches of fibre optic cables as sensors could enable continuous, real-time monitoring of conditions at the bottom of oceans and seas, and below the planet’s surface, researchers say.

Despite sensing technologies advancing significantly in recent years, oceans and seas remain largely unmonitored as installing permanent ocean-floor sensors is very expensive. The new technique could tap into existing networks of subsea cables that crisscross the ocean floor – spanning hundreds of thousands of miles – to create a vast array of environmental sensors, the team says.