**Scientists Discover New Use for Fiber Optic Cables: Listening to Cicadas**
*Linking Fiber Optic Cables to Listen to the Sounds of Nature*
In Princeton, New Jersey—a city known for its prestigious university and vibrant intellectual community—a peculiar test bed has become the center of scientific experimentation. Nestled in this bustling city, a fiber optic cable stretches across three utility poles before running underground and finally feeding into an “interrogator.” This device serves as the hub for a new and innovative technology known as distributed acoustic sensing, or DAS. With this technology, a laser is fired through the fiber optic cable, and the light that bounces back is analyzed. This cutting-edge technique can pick up small perturbations caused by seismic activity or even detect loud sounds, such as those emitted by a passing ambulance.
*Discovering a Noisy Use for the Technology*
In the spring of 2021, Sarper Ozharar, a physicist at NEC Laboratories, which operates the test bed in Princeton, made a remarkable discovery. While analyzing the data collected through the DAS, he noticed a strange signal. “We realized there were some weird things happening,” said Ozharar. “Something that shouldn’t be there. There was a distinct frequency buzzing everywhere.”
It turns out that the “distinct frequency” was the result of a giant swarm of cicadas that had just emerged from underground. Known as Brood X, these cicadas had caused a significant amount of noise that was detected by the DAS technology.
*The Cicada Expert: Confirming the Discovery*
Curious about the discovery, the scientists sought the expertise of Jessica Ware, an entomologist and cicada expert at the American Museum of Natural History. Ware had been observing the cicadas and found that the strange signal detected by the DAS matched the patterns of the cicadas’ activity. “I had been observing the cicadas and had gone around Princeton because we were collecting them for biological samples,” said Ware. “So when Sarper and the team showed that you could actually hear the volume of the cicadas, and it kind of matched their patterns, I was really excited.”
*Expanding the Possibilities*
The discovery of the cicadas’ noise through DAS has opened up new possibilities in the field of entomology. With fiber optic cables, entomologists have found a powerful and cost-effective way to listen in on insect populations from afar. This innovation holds promise for helping scientists collect data on insect population sizes and distributions.
*DAS and its Capabilities*
Distributed acoustic sensing operates by analyzing vibrations, whether they are the sounds of a singing brood of cicadas or the shifting of a geologic fault. Fiber optic cables transmit information by firing pulses of light, and the interrogator device can then analyze the light’s return to pin down where along the cable a disturbance occurs. “Every 1 meter of fiber, more or less, we can turn it into a kind of microphone,” explained Ozharar.
The discovery in Princeton has demonstrated the potential for distributed acoustic sensing to be utilized in a range of unique and unexpected ways. From detecting seismic activity and monitoring volcanic activity to now capturing the sounds of nature, the applications of this technology continue to expand, offering new opportunities for scientific investigation.
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