A new device enables existing submarine cable networks to measure deep-sea movements. It could ultimately help improve tsunami warnings and climate monitoring.
fiber optics
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Observing Magma-Induced Seismic Velocity Changes with Fiber-Optics
A new high-resolution method for tracking volcanic activity utilizes fiber-optic sensing to detect magma intrusion by measuring seismic velocity changes.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Listening to Earth’s Subsurface with Distributed Acoustic Sensing
A new book examines how fiber-optic cables installed in boreholes can monitor seismic activity, fluid flow, subsurface temperatures, and more.
Posted inNews
Fiber-Optic Networks Could Reveal the Moon’s Inner Structure
Distributed acoustic sensing offers a cost-effective alternative to traditional seismic arrays, and building such a network on the Moon might be possible.
Posted inNews
Thunderquakes Map the Subsurface
Researchers have figured out how rumbling thunder turns to seismic waves and how this shaking could be used to reveal subsurface geology.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Internet Cable Reveals the Source of Underwater Vibrations
A novel use of an existing fiber-optic cable off the coast of Spain has clued scientists in to how seismic noise is generated in the ocean.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Fiber Optics Open New Frontier for Landslide Monitoring
To study a landslide along China’s Three Gorges Reservoir, researchers deployed underground fiber-optic sensors to monitor temperature, moisture, and strain.
Posted inNews
Wiretapped Cables and the Songs of Whales
Researchers jerry-rigged fiber-optic cables in a fjord to eavesdrop on blue whales, with possible applications ranging from seafloor mapping to meteorology.