A paper just published in Geophysical Journal International introduces a physics-based algorithm designed to integrate fibre optic measurements with conventional seismometer data. The result could strengthen real-time earthquake monitoring and expedite alerts. It might also help track other seismic phenomena, including underground activity near volcanoes and ice movements in glaciers.
Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS), the approach at the heart of this development, gathers signals from thousands of points along a cable. Such dense data coverage could enrich earthquake detection, especially in densely populated or coastal areas crisscrossed by communication lines. Yet, interpreting this information has been challenging, in part because fibre optics register strain in a single direction while traditional seismometers capture ground motion in three dimensions. Urban noise further complicates matters, and converting massive data streams into actionable insights in real time requires efficient processing techniques.
"The ability to turn fibre optic cables into thousands of seismic sensors has inspired many approaches to use fibre for earthquake detection. However, fibre optic earthquake detection is not an easy challenge to solve," said lead researcher Dr Thomas Hudson, a senior research scientist at ETH Zurich.
"Here, we lean on combining the benefit of thousands of sensors with a simple physics-based approach to detect earthquakes using any fibre optic cable, anywhere.
"Excitingly, our method can combine fibre optic and traditional seismometer measurements, allowing fibre optic sensing to be included in existing earthquake early warning systems."
Unlike some advanced detection methods, the new algorithm avoids relying on purely machine learning models. Instead, it "migrates" energy signals back through space and time, looking for consistent peaks in multiple data channels. This technique has already proven adept at spotting earthquakes and distinguishing them from sporadic noise. Because cable placement in the real world can be messy, particularly in busy urban environments, a robust method is essential to ensure that stray vibrations do not trigger false alarms.
"A key strength of this physics-based approach is that it works well even in noisy environments, since noise is generally less coherent than an earthquake signal," said Dr Hudson. "It can also be applied out-of-the-box to any fibre network."
He continued: "Although we don't claim to have completely solved the large data volume issue, we present pragmatic ways to deal with this and our algorithm runs in real time for the datasets tested.
"The method is provided open-source, so that the wider seismology community can immediately benefit."
By combining fibre data with the depth of conventional seismometers, this new initiative promises to enhance the speed and accuracy of alerts. With such advancements, critical seconds could be gained before quake impact, giving populations and infrastructure systems time to react. If broadly implemented, the global grid of fibre optics could evolve into a powerful ally in safeguarding communities against seismic threats.
Research Report:Towards a widely applicable earthquake detection algorithm for fibreoptic and hybrid fibreoptic-seismometer networks
Related Links
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at ETHZ
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
| Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters |
