SUBMERSE Project

What is it?

THE SUBMERSE project is characterized as a consortium of European and global partners, supported by the program Horizon Europe of the European Union, which launched the “SUBMarine cables for ReSearch and Exploration” (SUBMERSE) program in early May, aiming make available to the scientific community, civil society and industry, data from continuous observations on several submarine fiber optic cables, using a standardized technological configuration on a continental scale.

What areas of knowledge could benefit from the project?

The three-year project will contribute to research and innovation in various scientific and social areas, such as geohazards, early warning and prediction of earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis, as well as the detection and protection of marine life.

In the scientific domain, SUBMERSE will support innovation in basic and applied research through the development of standardized high-tech research instruments. In the social domain, it will increase knowledge among academia, industry, and the general public, as well as raise awareness of socio-environmental issues. Similarly, in the economic and industrial domains, the research infrastructure will increase industrial competitiveness and drive science-based economic growth. In the environmental domain, it will increase understanding of marine ecosystems, leading to resilient and sustainable environments.

How did the project come about?

Scientific experimentation has shown that fiber optic cables deployed on the seabed are a robust and stable technology that can be used as sensors for monitoring the Earth and its systems, as an alternative to other types of sensors (sonars, seismometers, etc.) that are often expensive, time-consuming, and have a shorter lifespan.

Technologies such as state of polarization (SOP) sensing and distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) systems detect electromagnetic waves, vibrations, and other changes in parameters around a fiber optic cable, and through advanced data processing, quality information is obtained at a lower cost and higher speed.

Research infrastructures, together with several National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) and partners from universities, research institutions, and industrial entities in Europe, have pioneered techniques for using underwater optical fibers for research. However, until now, experimentation in these areas has been conducted in specific geographic locations, with limited durations, types of technologies used, and levels of technological readiness varying significantly, making comparability difficult. Furthermore, data results were often not publicly available.

SUBMERSE aims to bridge these gaps by promoting ubiquitous and continuous access to reliable, high-quality scientific data from submarine fiber optics at a continental scale, integrating previously unachieved advanced monitoring technologies and techniques, and fostering the creation of new applications and research opportunities in Earth sciences.

What are the main objectives of Submerse?

The project's main objective is to create a Research Infrastructure that allows, for the first time, researchers to conduct a variety of observations in multiple geographic locations, providing data sets compatible with the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) in near real time using machine learning.

The project will build a research and proof-of-concept instrument deployed in the North and South Atlantic and the Mediterranean. This new world-class research instrument integrates the existing infrastructures of the NREN and EPOS (European Plate Observing System), as well as the service Copernicus Marine of three European nations, as well as pan-European and pan-American institutions, to disseminate SOP and DAS data, in accordance with the FAIR principles, collected from the same submarine telecommunications optical fibers already installed and active.

What impacts are expected?

This instrument will serve as a model for continuous monitoring of many more cables in the future, opening new market opportunities and demonstrating methods to maximize investments in research infrastructures. It will also impact the integration of regional and national research infrastructures and provide innovative scientific methods and tools, thus enabling new cutting-edge services and long-term data sets of unique scientific value.

Which entities coordinate the project?

The SUBMERSE project will be coordinated by the Efis Centre (European Centre for Future Innovation Systems) and implemented with the support of a consortium of 24 partners, which together represent significant strength and experience in the implementation and operation of large networks. The consortium brings together technical organizations, research infrastructures, and industry, with interdisciplinary knowledge and expertise, which will provide access to the infrastructure necessary for the implementation of the proposal.

SUBMERSE Partners

• GEANT VERENIGING [GEANT],with legal address HOEKENRODE 3 po box 100, 1102 BR, AMSTERDAM, Netherlands
  1. GEORGIAN RESEARCH AND EDUCATIONAL NETWORKING ASSOCIATION [GRENA] with legal address 10 CHOVELIDZE STREET, 0108, TBILISI, Georgia
• INSTYTUT CHEMII BIOORGANICZNEJ POLSKIEJ AKADEMII NAUK [PSNC], with legal address NOSKOWSKIEGO 12-14, 61 704 , POZNAN Poland
• CESNET ZAJMOVE SDRUZENI PRAVNICKYCH OSOB [CESNET], with legal address ZIKOVA 4, 160 00 , PRAHA 6 Czechia
• NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURES FOR RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY [GRNET SA], with legal address LEOFOROS KIFISIAS 7, 11523 , ATHINA Greece
• ELLALINK IRELAND LIMITED [EllaLink], with legal address 23-25 BAGGOT STREET UPPER, D04 Y7T1 , DUBLIN Ireland
• NORDUNET A/S [NORDUNET A/S], with legal address KASTRUPLUNDGADE 22 1, 2770 DK003 , KASTRUP Denmark
  1. DANMARKS TEKNISKE UNIVERSITET [DTU] with legal address ANKER ENGELUNDS VEJ 101, 2800, KONGENS LYNGBY Denmark
  2. SIKT – KUNNSKAPSSEKTORENS TJENESTELEVERANDOR [SIKT] with legal address ABELS GATE 5A 7030 , TRONDHEIM Norway
• ETHNIKO ASTEROSKOPEIO ATHINON [NOA], with legal address LOFOS NYMFON, THISSIO, 11810, ATHENS Greece
• CORIANT R&D GMBH [CORIANT R&D], with legal address ST MARTIN STRASSE 76, 81541 , MUNCHEN Germany
• HELLENIC CENTER FOR MARINE RESEARCH [HCMR], with legal address LEOFOROS ATHENS SOUNIO 46 7KM, po box: 712, 19013 , ATTIKIA ANAVISSOS Greece
• UNIVERSIDAD DE ALCALA [UAH], with legal address PLAZA DE SAN DIEGO, 28801 , ALCALA DE HENARES/MADRID Spain
• HELMHOLTZ ZENTRUM POTSDAM DEUTSCHESGEOFORSCHUNGSZENTRUM GFZ [GFZ], with legal address TELEGRAFENBERG, 14473 , POTSDAM Germany
• FCIENCIAS.ID – ASSOCIATION FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCES [FC.ID], with legal address CAMPO GRANDE, BUILDING C1, FLOOR 3, 1749 016, LISBON Portugal
• 13.1 FACULTY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF LISBON [CIENCAS] with legal address CAMPO GRANDE C5 FLOORING 3, 1749-016, LISBON Portugal
• INESC TEC – INSTITUTE OF SYSTEMS AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING, TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE [INESC TEC], with legal address RUA DR ROBERTO FRIAS CAMPUS DA FEUP, 4200 465, PORTO Portugal
• E-SCIENCE EUROPEAN INFRASTRUCTURE FOR BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM RESEARCH [LIFEWATCH], with legal address PLAZA DE ESPANA S/N, SECTOR II-II, 41071 , SEVILLA Spain
• NORGES TEKNISK-NATURVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET NTNU [NTNU], with legal address HOGSKOLERINGEN 1, 7491 , TRONDHEIM Norway
• ALCATEL SUBMARINE NETWORKS SAS [ASN], with legal address ROUTE DE VILLEJUST, 91620 , NOZAY France
• UNIVERSITETET I BERGEN [UiB], with legal address MUSEPLASSEN 1, po box: 7800, 5020 , BERGEN Norway
• FOUNDATION FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY [FCT] with legal address AVENIDA D CARLOS I 126, 1249 074, LISBON, Portugal
• COOPERACIÓN LATINOAMERICANA DE RESES ADVANZADAS [RedClara] with legal address RAMBLA REPÚBLICA DE MÉXICO 6125, 11400 MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY