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Published on: October 31, 2011
Monitoring coastal ocean dynamics under typhoon conditions using submarine distributed optical-fiber acoustic sensing
Sunke Fang1, Jianmin Lin1, Wen Xu2,3
1State Key Laboratory of Ocean Sensing and Ocean College, Zhejiang University, Zhoushan 316021, China.
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|May 26, 2026
Summary
Coastal monitoring is enhanced by using submarine fiber optic cables with distributed acoustic sensing (DAS). This technology measures ocean surface gravity waves and currents, providing crucial data for coastal hazard assessment.
Area of Science:
- Oceanography
- Geophysics
- Remote Sensing
Background:
- Coastal communities face escalating risks from sea-level rise and altered cyclone patterns due to climate change.
- In situ oceanographic observations are limited, especially during extreme weather events.
- Submarine optical-fiber cables offer a potential solution for enhanced seafloor monitoring.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate the feasibility of using distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) on submarine fiber-optic cables for coastal ocean monitoring.
- To investigate the relationship between seafloor compliance noise and oceanographic parameters during a typhoon.
- To validate the accuracy of DAS measurements against established oceanographic data.
Main Methods:
- Deployment of DAS along a 17.7 km submarine cable in the Zhoushan Archipelago, China.
- Analysis of compliance noise (0.05-0.35 Hz) induced by ocean surface gravity waves (OSGWs).
- Systematic measurement of bathymetry, tidal levels, current profiles, and OSGW spectra using a novel methodology.
Main Results:
- Distinct spectrographic features of compliance noise correlated with tidal levels, currents, and winds during Typhoon Khanun.
- Accurate measurements of bathymetry, tidal levels, currents, and OSGW spectra were validated against external data sources.
- Identified the dominance of the M2 tidal constituent and enhanced vertical shear in flood currents.
Conclusions:
- Repurposing existing submarine fiber-optic cables with DAS is a viable method for robust coastal ocean dynamics monitoring.
- DAS provides valuable insights into ocean surface gravity wave interactions with tidal and current dynamics.
- This approach enhances the capacity for monitoring coastal hazards in data-sparse regions.
