Investigating Potential Transformative Methods of Ocean Seismic Research: a Pilot SMART Submarine Cable Installation in the Ionian Sea

Abstract:

Submarine telecommunication cables have potential to be useful infrastructure for offshore scientific research. Benefits of dedicated communication cables include reliable sources of power and real-time data transfer to remote locations in the ocean, previously only accessible with temporary autonomous freefall systems. Proving the technical and commercial viability of incorporating scientific instrumentation into regional scale cables is crucial for expansion to global and trans-ocean systems and thereby accessing live data from mid-oceanic locations.

Güralp Systems Ltd is designing, supplying and installing a pilot Wet Demonstrator “Scientific Monitoring And Reliable Telecommunications” (SMART) cable in the Ionian Sea from the port of Catania, Italy, as part of the Initiatives in Supporting the consolidation and enhancement of EMSO infrastructure and related Activities (InSEA) project.

The system design consists of a submarine cable approximately 19km in length with instruments installed in industry standard repeater housings at 6km intervals. Instrumentation will consist of a Güralp Certimus broadband seismometer and Fortimus accelerometer mounted inside the repeater housings with an absolute pressure gauge and temperature sensor mounted in externally connected sensor pods.

To prove commercial viability, SMART cables must be deployed with the same procedures normally used during standard cable-laying operations without additional ship time. Therefore, the cable will be deployed using a standard cable-laying ship and will endeavour to simulate a standard telecommunication cable installation as closely as possible.

A post-deployment assessment of live instrument data and installation observations will be made to evaluate the possibility for further instruments to be introduced to the system and expansion to larger scales.