Abstract

By tracking the state of polarization in submarine optical cables carrying live traffic across the Mediterranean Sea, we unambiguously detected the signature of the recent $M_w$ 8.8 Kamchatka earthquake in two independent optical links. Moreover, distinct precursors of the earthquake were observed in multiple cables within the same region. Their distance of roughly 9,000~km from the epicenter unequivocally indicates that the earthquake preparation was governed by Earth-scale processes, whose nature remains unknown. We conjecture that the excitation of Earth’s normal modes by solid tides may explain this global-scale behavior. These results demonstrate the potential of submarine optical fiber links as highly sensitive geophysical observatories, opening new perspectives for understanding earthquake dynamics and developing future early warning systems.

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Year
2025
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Antonio Mecozzi, Cristian Antonelli, Alberto Marullo et al. (2025). Earth-Scale Precursors of the Kamchatka Earthquake Revealed via Polarization Monitoring in Undersea Mediterranean Optical Fiber Links. . https://doi.org/10.1364/opticaopen.30763685.v2

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DOI
10.1364/opticaopen.30763685.v2