Rising sea levels could soon spell disaster for the thousands of miles of internet infrastructure that lays buried beneath major coastal cities.
A worrying new study found that damage will likely occur far sooner than previously estimated, with over 4,000 miles of fiber optic cables predicted to be at risk of being submerged in as soon as 15 years.
Experts warn New York, Miami, and Seattle could be among the worst hit – and, the effects will not be isolated, with potential to disrupt global communications.
‘Most of the damage that’s going to be done in the next 100 years will be done sooner than later,’ says Paul Barford, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of computer science.
‘That surprised us. The expectation was that we’d have 50 years to plan for it. We don’t have 50 years.’
The study led by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Oregon suggests more than 4,000 miles of buried cables will be completely submerged by 2033.
And, the researchers say more than 1,100 traffic hubs will be surrounded by water.
Researchers used data from the Internet Atlas – which maps the internet’s infrastructure around the world – along with sea level projections from the NOAA.
While the study only focused on the networks in the US, the experts say rising sea levels will have global consequences for coastal internet infrastructure.
‘When it was built 20-25 years ago, no thought was given to climate change,’ Barford says.
Though fiber optic cables are built to be water-resistant, they’re not waterproof.
Given how close many already are to sea level, the experts warn it won’t take much for them to become submerged.
Landing points, where subsea cables come ashore, will also ‘be underwater in a short period of time,’ Barford says.
The experts say it’s unclear how much mitigation efforts, such as sea walls, will help the problem.
‘The first instinct will be to harden the infrastructure,’ Barford says.
‘But keeping the sea at bay is hard. We can probably buy a little time, but in the long run it’s just not going to be effective.’
Daily Mail
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