As new subsea cables land on the coast of California, companies like Vero Networks build fiber inland to bring the new connectivity to more places including traditionally underserved areas and to further government broadband initiatives.
Vero Networks has been busy constructing networks around the North, East, and West sides of Arcata Bay and in the City of Arcata. This connectivity is now available in the Arcata area and California’s third Polytechnic University, Cal Poly Humboldt, particularly, has wasted no time putting the new network and its capabilities to work.
The future of earthquake detection via fiber optic cable
Cal Poly Humboldt, USGS, UC Berkeley, University of Washington, Cal Tech, Vero Networks, OptaSense Inc., and city and county governments, including the Arcata Police Department, who are housing crucial equipment, are leading the charge on leveraging fiber optic cables to detect and understand earthquakes and other geologic hazards.
“We are grateful for these partnerships. There are many scientific and environmental opportunities that will directly benefit from this new infrastructure!” said Connie Stewart, Executive Director of Initiatives for Cal Poly Humboldt.
“In addition to studying the most seismically active location in the lower 48 states, we can study the impact of sediment moving from mountains to the sea, traffic pattern impacts, and migration patterns of offshore Marine life.”
Fiber optic cables can detect changes in the earth during earthquakes. Researchers are investigating just how the optic parameters of the cable change when shaken by an earthquake. With the cooperation of the county, city of Arcata, PG&E and local landowners, these researchers installed about 50 seismometers, instruments that respond to ground noises and movement, along the new line. They are conducting a multi-month evaluation of the line, detecting even the smallest earthquakes that occur on a daily basis within our highly seismic area.
SOURCE: PR Newswire