Telecom Cables Wanted For Climate Research

schliz writes "Oceanographers have called for telecommunications companies to use their active and retired submarine fibre to collect climate data. Sydney University's John You says voltmeters could simply be attached to cable landing stations to measure ocean currents via the electromagnetic current that they generate. More information about salinity and seismology could be collected by attaching sensors to repeater boxes that are typically installed every 100km of cable to amplify signals. Because fibre optic cables could remain under the sea for decades, they could be a consistent, continual source of data for researchers."

Comments

Re:I'm an Australian

[PopeRatzo]

he is talking about infinite growth in Australia (and the World)... is not possible with finite resources.

I'm all for the anti-growth stuff, but why do I get the feeling (from the bit I've read about Mr Smith) that he wouldn't mind so much if Australia could grow by 15 million young white people to support the aging population?

I'm well acquainted with the "build a wall" crowd here in the US, where their main concern is that dark people with accents and garlic on their breath are coming here and threatening to impregnate our lilywhite daughters. It was so in 1860, it was so in 1920, and it's so in 2010.

I have a feeling he's starting from the anti-immigration thing and hanging all the anti-growth stuff around it to hide the pessimism and ugliness it belies.