loading page

High resolution seafloor thermometry and internal wave monitoring using Distributed Acoustic Sensing
  • +7
  • Julián Peláez Quiñones,
  • Anthony Sladen,
  • Aurelien Ponte,
  • Itzhak Lior,
  • Jean-Paul Ampuero,
  • Diane Rivet,
  • Samuel Meulé,
  • Frédéric Bouchette,
  • Ivane Pairaud,
  • Paschal Coyle
Julián Peláez Quiñones
Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, IRD, Géoazur

Corresponding Author:judape93@gmail.com

Author Profile
Anthony Sladen
Université Côte d’Azur
Author Profile
Aurelien Ponte
IFREMER
Author Profile
Itzhak Lior
Institute of Earth Sciences
Author Profile
Jean-Paul Ampuero
Université Côte d’Azur
Author Profile
Diane Rivet
Université Côte d’Azur
Author Profile
Samuel Meulé
Geosciences-M/GLADYS
Author Profile
Frédéric Bouchette
Geosciences-M/GLADYS
Author Profile
Ivane Pairaud
IFREMER
Author Profile
Paschal Coyle
Aix-Marseille Université
Author Profile

Abstract

Temperature is central for ocean science but is still poorly sampled on the deep ocean. Here, we show that Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) technology can convert several kilometer long seafloor fiber-optic (FO) telecommunication cables into dense arrays of temperature anomaly sensors with milikelvin (mK) sensitivity, allowing us to monitor oceanic processes such as internal waves and upwelling with unprecedented detail. We validate our observations with oceanographic in-situ sensors and an alternative FO technology. Practical solutions and recent advances are outlined to obtain continuous absolute temperatures with DAS at the seafloor. Our observations grant key advantages to DAS over established temperature sensors, showing its transformative potential for thermometry in ocean sciences and hydrography.