Gutscher Lab

Research focus

ERC Advanced Grant · 2017

Fiber Optic Cable Use for Seafloor studies of earthquake hazard and deformation

Two-thirds of the Earth’s surface is covered by water and thus largely inaccessible to modern networks of seismological instruments. The FOCUS project is poised to revolutionize seismic monitoring of the seafloor through a novel use of fiber optic cables to improve hazard assessment and increase early warning capability. Laser reflectometry using BOTDR, commonly used for structural health monitoring of large-scale engineering structures (e.g. - bridges, dams, pipelines, etc.), can measure very small strains (< 1 mm) at very large distances (10 - 200 km). It has never been used to monitor deformation caused by active faults on the seafloor. The objective of the FOCUS project is to…

From the public funding record at EU CORDIS. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.