Submarine fibre-optic sensing potential for regional seismicity monitoring near Santorini and Kolumbo Volcano

Submarine fibre-optic sensing potential for regional seismicity monitoring near Santorini and Kolumbo Volcano | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Submarine fibre-optic sensing potential for regional seismicity monitoring near Santorini and Kolumbo Volcano Sara Klaasen, Thomas Hudson, Sanchit Sachdeva, Paraskevi Nomikou, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6227080/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Submarine volcanoes and faults pose hazards to nearby populated islands while their inaccessibility limits monitoring efforts. The Christiana-Santorini-Kolumbo volcanic field is capable of generating devastating eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis. The recent earthquake swarm near Kolumbo, causing the evacuation of thousands from their homes, underlines the need for accurate and precise monitoring. The high spatiotemporal resolution of fibre-optic networks can complement existing seismic monitoring networks by locally lowering the detection threshold. We investigate a 45 km long dark fibre that extended from Santorini past the submarine volcano Kolumbo for two months in 2021, comparing the performance of the fibre with the existing monitoring network in Greece for earthquake detection and location. The detected quakes originated all over Greece, coming from any azimuth. We can reliably identify events given their epicentral distance and magnitude, and we double the number of detections in the vicinity of the fibre and Kolumbo. For event location, the azimuthal coverage of the existing seismometer network outperforms the spatially dense but approximately linear fibre, emphasising the importance of a nonlinear fibre layout. Our findings suggest that nonlinear fibre-optic networks can complement existing networks for targeted monitoring, but they need careful integration to optimise performance. Earth and environmental sciences/Solid earth sciences/Seismology Earth and environmental sciences/Solid earth sciences/Volcanology Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SupplementaryInformation.docx catalogue.csv Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6227080","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":453096349,"identity":"731ce31a-13c2-4605-a60b-d8a082b98385","order_by":0,"name":"Sara 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