Return

Seismic Monitoring

Marine seismic observation has long relied on seabed seismometers, which have high deployment and maintenance costs, resulting in less extensive and dense coverage compared to terrestrial observations. Utilizing long-distance DAS technology and the existing extensive network of submarine optical cables, including retired submarine communication cables or unused “dark” fibers in active cables, a wide-area marine seismic observation network with high spatial sampling densities can be established. Submarine telecommunication cables are highly sensitive to various types of seabed elastic waves (body waves, surface waves) caused by ground movements, offering a significant cost advantage over point-based seismometers. Records show that submarine cables can detect earthquakes occurring thousands of kilometers away. Additionally, since earthquakes generate significant instantaneous energy that interacts with various small-scale geological structures, producing rich signals (reflections, refractions, medium waves, etc.), efficiently using signals generated by natural earthquakes for passive imaging is crucial for revealing important geological structures such as submarine faults and sediment layers.