The SUBMERSE project partners gathered this week at the University of Lisbon for their latest assembly to review the significant progress made so far and to plan the final phase of this ambitious European initiative. SUBMERSE is pioneering the use of existing optical fibre infrastructure to create a distributed subsea sensing platform, delivering new opportunities for ocean observation without the need for dedicated cables.
Partners reported on successful deployments of sensing technology at four locations, alongside advances in data streaming, screening, storage, and secure access services. Researchers from participating institutions shared early findings that highlighted the clear and immediate benefits of subsea fibre sensing for their fields. From geology and seismology to marine biology and oceanography, SUBMERSE is already demonstrating its value as a multidisciplinary tool for producing high-quality, real-time time series data.
Equally important, the Project, together with pan-European infrastructures, develop strategies and repositories forming the groundwork for long-term data management. This safeguards the accessibility of vast amounts of real-time and archival sensing data to researchers across disciplines. As SUBMERSE enters its final stages, the project is well on its way to delivering an enduring resource for science and society, enabling new insights into the ocean environment.
SUBMERSE is funded by the European Commission under Horizon Europe Grant Agreement no. 101095055 and runs from 1 May 2023 to 30 April 2026.
