ORE Seminar: SMART Subsea Cables for Observing the Ocean and Earth: An Update

October 21, 3:30pm - 4:30pm
Mānoa Campus, Zoom Meeting, Please see description for Meeting ID and Passcode

JTF SMART Subsea Cables (Joint Task Force, Science Monitoring And Reliable Telecommunications, 1) is working to integrate environmental sensors for ocean bottom temperature, pressure and seismic acceleration into submarine telecommunications cables. The purpose of SMART Cables is supporting climate and ocean observation, sea level monitoring, observations of Earth structure, and tsunami and earthquake early warning and disaster risk reduction. Recent advances include regional SMART pilot systems that are the first steps to trans-ocean and global implementation. Building on the OceanObs’19 conference and community white paper (2), this overview and description of the status of ongoing projects will include: The InSea wet demonstration project off Sicily at the EMSO Western Ionian Facility; Gondwana-3 connecting New Caledonia and Vanuatu; Indonesia’s Makassar Strait systems working toward systems for the Sumatra-Java megathrust zone; and the CAM-2 triangle system connecting Lisbon, Azores and Madeira. Observing system design studies reviewed. Funding reflects a blend of government, development bank, and commercial contributions. In addition to notable scientific and societal benefits, the Telecom mission of societal connectivity will benefit as well, as environmental awareness improves both individual cable system integrity as well as that of the overall global communications network.

1) The Joint Task Force SMART Subsea cables is sponsored by three United Nations agencies: the International Telecommunications Union, the World Meteorological Organization, and the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (ITU/WMO/UNESCO-IOC). https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-T/climatechange/task-force-sc.

2) Howe, B. M., et al, and SMART Cables Joint Task Force, SMART Cables for Observing the Global Ocean: Science and Implementation, Frontiers in Marine Science, OceanObs’19 Special Issue, 6, 424. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2019.00424, 2019

Bruce Howe
Ocean and Resources Engineering
School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Zoom Meeting ID: 948 0813 6255
Passcode: 960614


Event Sponsor
Ocean and Resources Engineering, Mānoa Campus

More Information
(808) 956-7572,

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