What if we could hear what the ocean has to say to us using the undersea fibre-optic cables that connect the whole planet? That is the idea behind Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS), a field in which Professor John R. Potter specialises, and which seeks answers for the future of the globe.
Potter is currently spending several months in Gran Canaria on a sabbatical from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU, as it is known in Norwegian), having come to the island to work side by side with researchers from the Canary Islands Oceanic Platform (Plocan) and the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria on the development of this innovative technology.
Underwater cables: Fibre-optic cables become an acoustic sensor network
In an interview with EFE, Potter states that this technology «completely changes the way we can listen to the ocean». Using just specialised equipment known as an interrogator, which is connected to one end of the cable, all these telecommunications links can be turned into «a gigantic listening network».
Using the fibre-optic cables that have been laid on the seabed for decades, and with this interrogator, it is possible to do everything from detecting earthquakes to taking temperature and pressure measurements, with ‚extremely promising‘ results so far, but it also has the potential for much more: ‚We are still in the process of discovering everything this system is capable of‘.
Ocean research: Sound reveals a largely unknown world of life
But why is it so important to listen to what the ocean has to say and to use DAS to do so? Potter sums it up by saying that «it is a medium that works through sound». Unlike air, through which radio waves travel and visual information is abundant, in a saltwater environment light barely penetrates a few metres and the waves are attenuated.
«Therefore, virtually all marine life relies on sound to communicate and perceive its surroundings,» he sums up. And until now, we have not had the necessary resources to listen in depth to everything the ocean has to offer, something that remains largely unknown to humankind.
The fact is that it is estimated that only 10 per cent of the species living in the ocean are currently known.
So much so that the expert himself states that the surface of Mars has been mapped more thoroughly than our planet’s seabed: «It is the most unexplored, least understood and least sampled part of the Earth, despite being essential to the survival of all living beings.»
In this regard, he points out that the oceans produce half the oxygen that humans breathe and a large proportion of the food they consume, which highlights the crucial importance of understanding how they work so that we can «manage them responsibly» and tackle climate change. Because, he asserts, if there is a «collapse of the marine ecosystem», humans will not be able to survive.
Marine mammals may communicate in a more nuanced way than previously thought
The DAS system may also help to deepen our understanding of how marine species communicate with one another; these are predominantly acoustic animals that may possess far more developed acoustic abilities, understanding and nuances than humans, who are primarily visual.
Potter points out that the communication of marine mammals «most likely contains a far greater wealth of information and nuance than we have ever attributed to them».
And exploring this in greater depth could ‚radically‘ transform the way human beings view the rest of the environment and other species, because, according to Potter, ‚part of the difficulty in collectively addressing‘ the challenge of climate change ‚lies in humanity’s lack of connection to nature‘.
The Canary Islands offer a strategic location for DAS
Finally, Potter has no doubt that the Canary Islands can play a key role in the progress that the DAS can drive: «It is an absolutely strategic location.»
«The Canary Islands occupy an exceptional position: they boast a very rich ecosystem, are situated in the middle of the ocean, have clean waters teeming with life, yet at the same time are home to a significant volume of maritime traffic, high-speed ferries, technological infrastructure and a large population of cetaceans,» explains the university professor.
The archipelago, therefore, brings together «all the elements that define the current challenges» with which humankind must learn to live, largely thanks to the work of organisations such as Plocan, which has spearheaded the development of ocean observation systems to better understand their needs and has forged international partnerships.
For this reason, there could be no better ‚test bed‘ than the Canary Islands for turning DAS technology ‚into an essential tool for marine conservation‘. As Potter concludes, ‚The Canary Islands have proved key to clarifying what measures we must take and where we should direct our efforts in order to make progress‘.
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