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From disaster warnings to climate change: How SMART submarine cables are helping us better understand our oceans
If the COVID-19 pandemic has proven anything, it is that connectivity really is at the heart of our daily lives, both at work and at home. The vast majority of this connectivity is facilitated by the submarine cables that span vast distances, connecting continents and ensuring seamless data dialogue between nations.
It is precisely the scale of these cable deployments that make them an ideal opportunity for oceanic monitoring. Incorporating an array of sensors alongside these cables, the subsea nervous system of the telecoms world can provide invaluable data on ocean and climate monitoring, as well as warning us of potential disasters.
The Joint Task Force for SMART (Science Monitoring And Reliable Communications) submarine cables was established in 2012 and since then has been working closely with international and national bodies to bring this concept to fruition.
“The basic idea is to put sensors into these cables to produce a global array that will observe earthquakes, tsunamis, climate, oceans, and sea levels, and this will absolutely be a first-order addition to our Ocean–Earth observing systems,” explained Bruce Howe from the Joint Task Force on SMART Cables.
SMART Cables not only offer advantages for scientists and society at large, but also for the telecoms industry itself – greater understanding of the world’s oceans and its physiological temperament will allow for more efficient placement of cables in future, offering significant cost savings.
Total Telecom’s latest webinar on the future of SMART cables offers insight into nearly every aspect of the concept, with deep dives into deployment strategies, technology, and current SMART project.
The panel of speakers is hugely varied, featuring experts from the SMART Cables Joint Task Force, ANACOM, University of Hawaii, French Institute for Research & Development, Aqua Comms, Ocean Specialists Inc., Güralp Systems Ltd., Agency for Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), GFZ Research Centre for Geosciences, and EllaLink.
The webinar can be watched in full for free via Total Telecom. Register here now.
For access to the presentation materials, please contact Kerry Merritt at kerry.merritt@totaltele.com. For further questions about the SMART cables, please contact Bruce Howe at bhowe@hawaii.edu.
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