This image was taken during the FOCUSX1 cruise. It shows the bathymetric map acquired with the ROV Victor 6000 before the deployment of the deep sea cable with a 5m contour interval. Background is ship hull bathymetry from the PP2. Red line marks the cable position crossing the NW-SE trending fault.

 

The objective of the FOCUS (Fiber Optic Cable Use for Seafloor studies of earthquake hazard and deformation) project, funded by the ERC (European Research Council), is to study the adaptation possibilities of submarine telecommunication cables, which could prove to be a tremendous asset in large-scale seismological monitoring. The 5-year project aims to detect small (1 to 2 cm) displacements across the recently mapped North Alfeo Fault, located 20km from Catania, a 1-million-inhabitants urban area in Sicily. The studies rely on the Catania  EMSO (European Multidisciplinary water-column and Seafloor Observatory) station, located in 2100 m depth and connected to land by a 25 km long electro-optical cable.