Julia Schätzel
Tel.: +49 431 600 2265
E-Mail: jschaetzel(at)geomar.de
Ines Staben
Tel.: +49 431 600 2243
E-Mail: istaben(at)geomar.de
Anne Völsch
Tel.: +49 431 600 2271
E-Mail: avoelsch(at)geomar.de
SAFAtor
SMART CABLES AND FIBRE-OPTIC SENSING AMPHIBIOUS DEMONSTRATOR
Short description
A global monitoring and user center SMART Cables And Fibre-optic Sensing Amphibious Demonstrator (SAFAtor) is being set up. The concept is based on the secondary use of submarine telecommunication cables and turns them into a global geomonitor through two complementary approaches:
a) Equipping the repeaters with robust sensor technology, initially oceanographic sensors for continuous, transoceanic measurement in real time (monitor water body).
b) Using the optical fiber in the cable itself as a sensor, with technologies for spatially distributed acoustic, strain and temperature measurement (monitor subsurface).
With this innovative combination, areas that were previously partially separated by measurement technology are to be connected and the large gaps in global system models (geology, climate, oceanography) are to be closed for the first time and with a minimized footprint.
Scientific significance
SAFAtor will enable the
- capability for permanent seismic monitoring of the oceans: complete seismic imaging, hazard assessment, earthquake early warning.
- Increase the reliability, integrity and range of seismological warning networks: Extend advance warning times, improve forecasts and prediction quality.
- Provide geotechnical assessment of slope stability and movement: for example, recognize submarine landslides as potential tsunami sources.
- Optimize quantification of climate-relevant and fundamental oceanic variables in the ocean and on the coasts, such as water mass redistribution, ocean heat content, etc.
- Provide high quality data for satellite-based ground-truthing and model validation.
Strategic significance
SAFAtor will routinely monitor critical parameters of climatic and tectonic changes and help to minimize seismic and tsunami hazards.
As a result, the system will save lives and reduce economic losses. The demonstrator will also provide valuable data from a target region, for example the Mediterranean or Indonesia. This system will be the blueprint for cabled systems and will initiate international efforts for global instrumentation. SAFAtor will be implemented as a user facility with open data distribution (Findable/Accessible/Interoperable/Reusable, FAIR) and user center.
Scientific contact
Prof. Dr. Laura M. Wallace (co-PI, GEOMAR)
RD 4: Dynamics of the ocean floor
RU: Marine Geodynamics
GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel
Phone: +49 431 600-2241
E-Mail: lwallace(at)geomar.de
Prof. Dr. Heidrun Kopp
RD 4: Dynamics of the ocean floor
RU: Marine Geodynamics
GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel
Phone: +49 431 600-2241
E-Mail: hkopp(at)geomar.de
Dr. Jörg Bialas
RD 4: Dynamics of the ocean floor
RU: Marine Geodynamics
GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel
Phone: +49 431 600-2329
E-Mail: jbialas(at)geomar.de
Prof. Dr. Peter Brandt
RD 1: Ocean Circulation and Climate Dynamics
RU: Physical Oceanography
GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel
Phone: +49 431 600-4105
E-Mail: pbrandt(at)geomar.de
Prof. Dr. Morelia Urlaub
RD 4: Dynamics of the ocean floor
RU: Marine Geodynamics
GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel
Phone: +49 431 600-2638
E-Mail: murlaub(at)geomar.de
