A major earthquake in Taiwan and several aftershocks knocked out Internet and communications services on several submarine cables, but all have been restored.
For this, there is need a for advanced computing systems, the company says machine learning technology-based Google Cloud will play a critical role. The 24 h threshold was set for an individual earthquake triggering a submarine mass movement as the database contained only the date and not the specific time of the break. Is it possible to detect earthquakes with submarine cables? During the initial field trial, it observed that SOP was remarkably stable, even after the signal traversed 10,500 km.For several weeks the ocean floor was quiet, showing no SOP changes that would indicate an earthquake. A recent experiment using one of our subsea fiber optic cables showed that it could be useful for earthquake and tsunami warning systems around the globe. Now, Google says it has developed new techniques that expand the range to thousands of km into the ocean.The internet data, which is carried in the form of pulses of light inside the undersea optic fibres travel with speed up to 2,04,190 km per second. "One of the properties of light that is tracked as part of the optical transmission is the state of polarization (SOP). There’s a long tradition of using optical fiber for sensing applications. But, the range is limited to 100 km and some times the accuracy is much to be desired. The team observed clear SOP activity with timing consistent with observations made at a seismic monitoring station in Tlapa, Mexico, which was located at a similar distance.Then, on March 28, a magnitude 4.5 earthquake occurred off the shore near Valparaiso, Chile, only 30 km away from one of Google cables at the closest point. The Google experts tried to detect earthquakes based on spectral signatures—performing a spectral analysis of Stokes parameters to look at frequencies that are typical of earthquakes.It began monitoring SOP on most of its undersea cable and found it to be stable, even after the signal traveling close to 10,500 km.
Eight submarine cables were cut by the earthquake and landslides caused by the Typhoon Morakot. On 23 March 2014, the APCN2 cable damaged after existing submarine cable break at S4A that happened on March 21.
An earthquake was attributed to have caused a submarine mass movement if the cable break and the earthquake date were coincident, or within 24 h of one another. In June 2010, the cable suffered some major faults, disrupting the Internet Access in the Philippines. MOTION OF THE OCEAN FLOOR The network of submarine fiber-optic cables that deliver work e-mails and cat videos to computers around the world could double as undersea earthquake detectors.
We’re humbled and excited by the possibility of collaborating with the optical, subsea and seismic research communities to use all of our cable infrastructure for greater societal benefits," Google noted.Wrong turn led whales to crocodile-infested river?DH Toon | Rahul takes a dig at Modi over GDP, Covid-19,Asian mosquito species threaten African cities,The Lead | M Visveswaraya: An engineer par excellence,We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve user experience.
"We see this approach not as a replacement of dedicated seismic sensors but as a source of complementary information to enable early warnings for earthquakes and tsunamis. This includes personalising content and advertising. These factors are very critical in sending a warning to the nearby coasts to save the lives of the people.Google hopes to create a robust earthquake monitoring system. For long, seismologists have tracked earthquakes and tsunamis by leasing undersea optic fibres (with sensors) from commercial operators. During the initial field trial, it observed that SOP was remarkably stable, even after the signal traversed 10,500 km.