The National Oceanography Centre (NOC) is advancing the use of cutting-edge technology to better understand and manage the complex interactions between urban environments and the ocean.
Through the SOUNDSCALE project, NOC scientists are working with partners including the University of Southampton, IPSOS and the National Centre for Social Research to explore how existing infrastructure can be repurposed to provide unprecedented insights into marine and coastal systems.
SOUNDSCALE is the first project of its kind in the UK to apply distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) technology, with pioneering applications in intelligent monitoring of marine, glacial, urban and maritime environments, developed at NOC. Using legacy terrestrial fibre-optic cable networks, the project enables continuous, real-time observation across large geographic areas, including cities such as Southampton and London.
This innovative approach provides detailed observational data on environmental processes while also offering new ways to monitor infrastructure and detect events as they happen. Crucially, the project is also examining how such technologies can be developed and deployed responsibly, ensuring societal and environmental considerations are embedded from the outset.
Professor Mohammad Belal, Principal Investigator at NOC, said: “SOUNDSCALE represents a significant step forward in how we observe and understand the environments where people and the ocean interact most closely. By using existing fibre-optic networks, we can capture a level of detail and scale that was previously unattainable.
“Importantly, this project is not just about technological innovation. It is about understanding how we can apply these tools responsibly balancing scientific advancement with societal needs and expectations.”
The interdisciplinary nature of the project brings together expertise from across the physical and social sciences, arts and humanities, ensuring a holistic approach to both the science and its wider implications. Within the project, an artistic research strand explores the role of public infrastructure, of which DAS could be part of in the future, and our relationship with it.
“A public infrastructure” is an artistic and participatory research strand within SOUNDSCALE, developed by Alexandra (Sasha) Anikina and Angela YT Chan, and currently embedded in the Community Takeover at John Hansard Gallery. It takes the form of a movable, reconfigurable meeting space that explores the question: to what extent are technological infrastructures in the hands of the public?
By enhancing observational capabilities in urban coastal regions, SOUNDSCALE supports efforts to better manage environmental change, protect marine ecosystems, and safeguard infrastructure and communities.
A series of videos featuring NOC researchers and project partners, including How fibreoptic cables can listen to their environment by University of Southampton has been produced to support coordinated outreach and provide further insight into the project’s aims and impact.
Find out more about the project: https://soundscale.ac.uk/
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