Illuminating seafloor faults and ocean dynamics with dark fiber distributed acoustic sensing

Distributed fiber-optic sensing technology coupled to existing subsea cables (dark fiber) allows observation of ocean and solid earth phenomena. We used an optical fiber from the cable supporting the Monterey Accelerated Research System during a 4-day maintenance period with a distributed acoustic s...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2019-11, Vol.366 (6469), p.1103-1107
Main Authors: Lindsey, Nathaniel J, Dawe, T Craig, Ajo-Franklin, Jonathan B
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acoustic noise
Acoustic waves
Acoustics
Dark fibers
Detection
Earthquakes
Fiber optics
Geological faults
Geophysics
Internal waves
Luminance distribution
Maintenance
Mapping
Ocean dynamics
Ocean floor
Ocean surface
Optical fibers
Optics
Sediment transport
Seismic activity
Storms
Submarine cables
Surface waves
Vibrations
Water circulation
Water column
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Distributed fiber-optic sensing technology coupled to existing subsea cables (dark fiber) allows observation of ocean and solid earth phenomena. We used an optical fiber from the cable supporting the Monterey Accelerated Research System during a 4-day maintenance period with a distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) instrument operating onshore, creating a ~10,000-component, 20-kilometer-long seismic array. Recordings of a minor earthquake wavefield identified multiple submarine fault zones. Ambient noise was dominated by shoaling ocean surface waves but also contained observations of in situ secondary microseism generation, post-low-tide bores, storm-induced sediment transport, infragravity waves, and breaking internal waves. DAS amplitudes in the microseism band tracked sea-state dynamics during a storm cycle in the northern Pacific. These observations highlight this method's potential for marine geophysics.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.aay5881