Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation is supporting the SMART initiative to bridge the gap between concept and implementation.

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation grant is supporting the implementation of sensors integrated into subsea telecommunications cables to become the world standard, leading to a global network for sustained ocean observation, geophysical study of earthquakes, and earthquake and tsunami warning in a world with rising sea levels. See the grant details here.

Major outputs of the project:

  • Output 1.1: Lay groundwork for the science and early warning use of undersea cables by simulations of the observing system before deployment, data analysis after deployment, and sustained scientific operation.

  • Output 1.2: Apply results of those simulations to optimize the modest-scale 300 km Vanuatu-New Caledonia cable system and extract the scientific results from this active tectonic subduction zone and dynamic ocean region. Demonstrate the capability of the earthquake and tsunami early warning system based on the SMART sensors.

  • Output 1.3: Establish the international project office for Joint Task Force Scientific Monitoring And Reliable Telecommunications cables to facilitate adoption of scientific sensors in all new telecommunications cables to reach a global scale.

About the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation fosters pathbreaking scientific discovery, environmental conservation, patient care improvements and preservation of the special character of the Bay Area.

Visit Moore.org or follow @MooreFound for more information.

Recent Activity

  • group of people standing

    JTF SMART Cables Meeting, 2024

    ITU/WMO/UNESCO-IOC Joint Task Force SMART Cables meeting on 20 January 2024 was held in Honolulu, Hawaii. The International Programme Office enjoyed hosting professionals across industry, academia, and government in a fruitful discussion about current and upcoming SMART systems.

  • Workshop in Tonga, 2023

    The Joint Task Force for SMART Cables participated in “Understanding and lessons learned from the tsunami generated by the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano eruption on 15 January 2022 for the development of Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System for tsunamis generated by volcanoes and other non-seismic source” workshop.

  • ITU, 2023

    The International Programme Office visited the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) headquarters where we met with the Telecommunication Development Bureau director, Cosmas Luckyson ZAVAZAVA, and the Telecommunication Standardization Bureau director, Seizo ONOE, to strengthen our joint work in support of climate change observations and early warning on the global scale.

  • United Nations, 2023

    Bruce Howe presented the SMART concept for ocean observing - equipping transoceanic telecommunications cables with sensors to better understand the state of the ocean (and Earth), at the United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea.

  • Ocean Sciences Meeting, 2024

    Karen Renninger-Rojas presented key findings of her master's research on SMART subsea cables, which enhance deep ocean monitoring with advanced sensors at the Ocean Sciences meeting in New Orleans in February, 2024. This study, utilizing OSSEs and the ECCO framework, aims to pinpoint strategic deployment sites for these cables, with profound implications for global oceanographic research.