In brief
As dawn broke over San Juan Island, scientists began deploying over a mile of fiber-optic cable into the Salish Sea, aiming to use it as an underwater microphone to track the sounds of orcas. The project seeks to assess orca responses to environmental threats like shipping traffic and climate change and could create a global data network leveraging the vast underwater communication infrastructure already in place. The technology, Distributed Acoustic Sensing, has historically been used for pipeline monitoring and is now being adapted to extend its capabilities in marine conservation.
SAN JUAN ISLAND, Wash. (AP) — As dawn broke over San Juan Island, scientists deployed over a mile of fiber-optic cable into the Salish Sea targeting the sounds of endangered orcas. The initiative is a test of whether the same cables that deliver internet signals can be adapted to monitor orca vocalizations, providing insights into their behavior in response to ship traffic and climate change impacts.The Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) technology, which turns fiber-optic cables into continuous sound sensors, captures the clicks and calls of orcas with unprecedented detail. Shima Abadi, a researcher leading the project, expressed optimism about using DAS to create a continuous monitoring system for wildlife protection. The current challenge remains in adapting the technology adequately to cover the high frequencies used by orcas. If successful, researchers hope it could lead to real-time alerts about the presence of orcas, supporting efforts to mitigate noise interference from ships in the region. The implications of this work might stretch well beyond the Salish Sea, tapping into the global network of 870,000 miles of existing underwater fiber-optic cables for environmental conservation initiatives.
