Zack Spica on fiber-optic sensing for subsea cables and ocean monitoring

The article profiles Zack Spica, a seismologist and fiber-optic sensing expert who envisions subsea internet cables as dual-purpose infrastructure for both data transmission and real-time environmental monitoring. Subsea cables currently carry about 95% of global data traffic, and Spica’s work leverages distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) technology to transform these cables into seismic sensors capable of detecting earthquakes, tsunamis, and other oceanic activities. With over 15 years of experience, including academic roles at Stanford, Tokyo, and the University of Michigan, Spica founded the startup Lumetec to apply AI-driven analysis to fiber-optic data for enhanced ocean monitoring. Spica’s journey began with a childhood interest in earth sciences and evolved through diverse international research experiences that shaped his multidisciplinary approach. He highlights significant technological advances in fiber-optic sensing over the past decade, such as increasing the sensing range from about 25-30 kilometers to nearly 200 kilometers and improving sensitivity and resolution. The technology