Submarine Cable Protection and the Environment

The International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) is pleased to announce the tenth issue of our bi-annual, marine-focused newsletter titled “Submarine Cable Protection and the Environment.” The publication—written by ICPC’s Marine Scientific Adviser, Dr Mike Clare—is a reference for all seabed users, the scientific community and general public who share the same vital goal as the ICPC—safeguarding submarine telecommunications and power cables worldwide.

The ICPC provides a forum for the exchange of technical, legal and environmental information about submarine cables. If interested in learning more about ICPC's publications and outreach please visit our Publications page. If interested in joining the ICPC, click here.

Submarine Cable Protection and the Environment Archive

Issue 10 - June 2025

STUDY 1: Newly recognized turbidity current structure can explain prolonged flushing of submarine canyons
STUDY 2: Longest sediment flows yet measured show how major rivers connect efficiently to deep sea
STUDY 3: Time-lapse surveys reveal patterns and processes of erosion by exceptionally powerful turbidity currents that flush submarine canyons: A case study of the Congo Canyon
STUDY 4: Carbon and sediment fluxes inhibited in the submarine Congo Canyon by landslide-damming
STUDY 5: Globally significant mass of terrestrial organic carbon efficiently by canyon-flushing turbidity currents
STUDY 6: Seabed seismographs reveal duration and structure of longest runout sediment flows on Earth
STUDY 7: Ocean-bottom seismometers reveal surge dynamics in Earth’s longest-runout sediment flows
STUDY 8: Hydroacoustic Signals Recorded by CTBTO Network Suggest a Possible Submarine Landslide in Trou Sans Fond Canyon

Issue 9 - October 2024

Most Damage to Subsea Cables is Caused by Accidental Human Activities
A Reduction in Fishing-Related Cable Faults Due to Greater Awareness and Protection
Impacts of Human Activities Such as Fishing Are Not Entirely Limited to Shallow Water
Globally-Significant Effects of Bottom Trawling
Effects of Trawling Felt Far Away into the Deep-Sea
What are the Implications of Human-Modified Sedimentary Regimes?

Issue 8 - April 2024

Different Types of Sensing that Relies Upon Submarine Cables
Introduction to Fibre-Optic Sensing Technologies

Distributed Acoustic Sensing
Distributed Temperature Sensing
Optical Interferometry
State of Polarisation
Example Applications in Ocean & Earth Monitoring
Monitoring of Human Activities
Earthquakes and Seismic Events
Tsunami and Surface Waves
Other Natural Hazards Including Volcanic Hazards
Oceanographic Processes Including Storms, Currents and Temperature Fluctuations
Biological activity – Whales & Dolphins
Polar and Glacial Processes
What does the future have in store?

Issue 7 - September 2023

How subsea cables were affected by the most volcanic eruption ever recorded:

The importance of submarine cables to remote island nations
Cable damage by natural hazards
The 2022 eruption of Hunga volcano and the disconnection of Tonga
Why were the seafloor flows so fast at Hunga volcano?
What can be done to enhance cable resilience?
What has been learned from the Hunga volcano eruption?

Issue 6 - May 2023

Climate Change: An Issue for Today and Not Just the Future

Climate Change and Subsea Cables: Impacts and Adaptations
Recent Impacts of Natural Hazards on Subsea Cables
Changes in Ocean Conditions May Create New Threats
Mitigation and Adaptation to Ensure Continued Resilience of the Global Telecommunications Cable Network

Issue 5 - September 2022

Rise of underwater robots

Ocean gliders making sustained measurements across the ocean
Autonomous Underwater Vehicles investigating the deep seafloor
Under the ice—the next frontier
Looking to the future
Use of marine autonomous technology for decommissioning
What about decommissioning of submarine cables?
An economic case for recycling subsea cables

Issue 4 - March 2022

Is it Planet Earth or Planet Ocean?
Rubber Ducks and a Global Ocean
Growing International Collaborations to Monitor the Health of the Ocean
A Need to Observe the Deep Sea
Early Warnings of Offshore Hazards
The Science Monitoring and Reliable Telecommunications (SMART) Cables Initiative
Use of Unmodified Cables for Global Monitoring
A Long History of Collaborations Between the Cable Industry and Ocean Scientific Research

Issue 3 - September 2021

Keeping the Internet Protected from Space Weather
Using Seafloor Cables to Measure the World Around Us

Issue 2 - March 2021

Warming Oceans and Changing Fishing Practices
Fish Aggregating Devices: An Emerging Threat for Submarine Telecommunication Cables
Improved Cable Design Eliminates the Threat Posed by Sharks to Submarine Cablesa

Issue 1 - September 2020

Climate Change and the Role of Submarine Cables in a Post-COVID World
Powerful Avalanches in the Deep Sea
Cables are Almost Pristine After Nearly Half a Century in the Deep Sea