Collaborative Research/EAGER: Toward Long-Distance Ocean and Seismic Sensing on Optical Telecommunications Infrastructure

私人投资机构要求紧急资金，以测试在现有电信电缆上对跨大洋盆地的地震和海洋过程进行海底观测的可行性。该项目将为两名研究生提供部分支持，PIS计划在惠德贝和卡马诺岛之间萨拉托加航道的普吉特湾海底的电信电缆上同时比较三种光纤方法，超稳定激光干涉测量(ULI)、分布式声学传感(DAS)和基于远程偏振的方法。将地球物理和ULI信号联系起来的物理方法以及其他新技术，如分布式声学传感(DAS)和新的基于远程极化的方法，都是有限的，需要进一步研究。目前还没有现场演示显示出能够分辨地震、潮汐信号或鲸鱼叫声的潜在能力。目前的安装为PI提供了一个理想的机会，可以在一根电缆上同时比较三种光纤方法与到达不同角度和不同潮流的单独地震信号。这些测量将提供关于相对敏感性的第一批数据，并为支持未来的NSF提案提供初步数据。这一裁决反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The PIs request EAGER funding to test the feasibility of making undersea observations of seismic and oceanic processes across ocean basins on existing telecommunications cables. The project will provide partial support for two graduate students The PIs plan to compare three fiber-optical methods, Ultra-stable Laser Interferometry (ULI), Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) and a long-range polarization-based method simultaneously on a telecom cable on the seafloor of Puget Sound, in Saratoga Passage, between Whidbey and Camano Island. The physics linking geophysics and ULI signals and other new techniques, like Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) and the new long-range polarization-based method is limited and needs to be investigated further. There haven’t been field demonstrations showing the potential capability to resolve signals from earthquakes, tidal signals, or whale vocalizations. The current installation gives the PIs an ideal opportunity to compare the three fiber-optical methods simultaneously on a single cable with individual seismic signals arriving at various angles and varying tidal currents. These measurements would provide the first data on relative sensitivities and provide preliminary data to support future NSF proposals.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.