Google is seeking to develop a technique that could detect earthquakes early. The technology was tested in 2019 and has potential to save lives across the world.
According to Google, they have developed a technique that covers a large area and uses existing fibre to identify disturbances on the seafloor.
Their relies on technology that is widespread on today’s fiber optic networks.
“Millions of fibre optic networks already span the globe, operated by governments, telecommunications providers, and technology companies such as ourselves.
By collaborating with the global subsea cable community, we may be able to improve the world’s ability to detect and research seismic activity around the world,” said Google.
These fibres can link different continents to the ocean floor using Google’s global network of undersea cables to “share, search, send, and receive information” around the world at a fast pace.
This is how the internet’s international traffic travels.
These undersea cables are made of optic fibres. They are considered to carry data in the form of a light pulse that travel at more than 2 lakh kilometres per second.
These light pulses are received by a digital signal processor to correct distortions.
Google said that mechanical disturbances along the cable will be tracked to detect seismic activity.
“We’re excited by the early success of detecting seismic events with subsea cables, which can improve our ability to observe both the Earth’s structure and earthquake dynamics. But this is just the beginning,” they added.