Google Earthquake Detection System : One of the world’s largest organizations, Google has developed a new way to detect earthquakes and tsunamis in the ocean floor with the help of fiber optic cable. This technology will be useful for warning systems around the world. Google claims that their technology works at thousands of kilometers compared to other techniques that are effective at distances up to 100 kilometers. Earlier methods for detecting earthquakes require special equipment and sensing fibers, while Google claims to use existing fibers to detect movement on the surface of the ocean.
What is meant by subsea fiber optic cables?
A sub-fiber optic cable is a submarine communication cable placed on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunications signals across the ocean and sea.
Google Earthquake Detection System
Fiber optic cables connect continents together through the ocean surface, which transmit vital information, including the international traffic of the Internet. Google’s global network of undersea cables has made it possible to share, send, search and receive information around the world at the speed of light. Undersea cables made using optical fiber transmit data as vibrations of light at a speed of about 204,190 kilometers per second.
Is it possible to detect earthquakes with submarine cables? We think it might be.https://t.co/6oIZTxg1wk
— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) July 16, 2020
History of earthquake detection system
Google began monitoring polarization conditions on its global submarine cables in late 2019. Initial tests showed that SOP was remarkably stable even over long distances. SOP changes that would indicate earthquakes were not observed. On 28 January 2020, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake was detected from Jamaica which is 1500 km from the nearest point of one of the cables. In the months following the detection, several medium-sized earthquakes over short and long distances were recorded.
After analyzing the data, Dr. Zhongwen Zan of the California Institute of Technology Seismological Laboratory has confirmed the findings and has also concluded that the cables can be useful in detecting sea pressure changes that allow us to detect tsunamis. Can help make forecasts.
The early success of detecting seismic activity with the help of optic fiber cable can improve the ability to study the Earth’s structure and its dynamics. Google’s measures are broadly based on today’s fiber-optic network technology. Google also noted in its blog post, “This is only a first demonstration, not a working system, and much work remains to be done. First, scientists will need to better understand the deluge of complex data generated by monitoring SOP. “Therefore, it will be exciting to see what happens next and how optic fiber cables will help us prepare for bigger disasters than before.
