Providing a look at the repercussions of global climate change and new possibilities for submarine cables are Paul Holthus, Founding CEO & President, World Ocean Council and Rhett Butler, Interim Director, Hawaii Institute for Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawaii.

Butler points out a very telling fact: for all the many ways we have of measuring the atmosphere and the world, very little is done to examine the effects on the ocean floor, a fact that may seriously effect the Submarine Telecoms industry.

“Could these cables be used to collect data?” asks Holthus.  A Joint Task Force (JTF) established in 2012 was created to examine the potential of cable systems in acting as an early warning system for tsunamis and other natural events.

“The Joint Task Force has been working steadily over the last three years… with a growing number and more proactive members of the industry,” says Holthus.

“Where we are now in all this is taking this to the proof of concept level.”  There has been an increasing interest from the industry in sorting out the pros and barriers to this new application.

“New global data are critical for understanding and managing ocean health, ecosystems, and mitigation of climate change and natural hazards,” reads Holthus' conclusion.  He reiterates that the new uses that cables could be put to may make the difference.