We picture satellites, Wi-Fi, and bright data centers when we think of the internet. However, beneath the sea is the true foundation of the digital age. Nearly 99 percent of all international data traffic is carried by thousands of miles of underwater internet cables that crisscross the seabed.
Our interconnected world is powered by this invisible web, which facilitates everything from banking transactions to video calls. However, even though it powers our digital lives, there are unspoken environmental costs.
Let's examine in detail the operation of underwater cables, their effects on the environment, and potential developments in sustainable internet infrastructure.
The Internet's Submerged Arteries
The use of submarine cables is not new. In 1858, the first transatlantic telegraph cable was installed, linking Newfoundland and Ireland. These cables now transmit petabytes of data per second rather than Morse code.
Structure: Typically, a garden hose-sized cable has glass fibers at its core and is armored with layers of plastic and steel.
Length: The cables that cross the oceans are more than 1.4 million kilometers (870,000 miles) long.
Ownership: A large portion of this infrastructure is currently owned by tech behemoths like Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Meta.
To put it briefly, these cables serve as the unseen lifeblood of our world economy. However, what occurs when they come into contact with the fragile deep-sea ecosystems?
Connecting the Wires: Engineering and Ecology
It's no easy task to lay a cable across the ocean floor. They are slowly unwound over thousands of miles by specialized ships. Cables are buried into the seabed close to shorelines to guard against damage from fishing gear or anchors.
However, there are ecological repercussions to this process:
- Disturbance of Sediments: Coral reefs, seagrass beds, and benthic (sea floor) organisms may be impacted by the plowing and trenching required to bury cables.
- Noise pollution: Underwater noise produced by cable-laying ships disturbs marine mammals that depend on sound for navigation, such as dolphins and whales.
- Seabed Alteration: The structure of the seabed can be changed and sensitive habitats can be flattened by heavy machinery.
Effects on Marine Life
Despite being marketed as "low-impact," cables can have a subtle but significant impact on marine ecosystems, according to studies:
1. Shallow ecosystems and coral reefs
Nearshore cable landings have the potential to harm coral reefs in tropical regions. It takes decades for corals to recover, and disturbances here have an impact on entire ecosystems.
2. Communities on the Seabed
Cable trenching and burying can disturb deep-sea ecosystems, which are home to species that we have hardly studied. A lot of deep-sea animals are extremely sensitive to physical stress.
3. EMFs, or electromagnetic fields
Electromagnetic fields are produced by power cables (for offshore energy or future powered internet cables). EMFs are used by certain animals, such as sharks and rays, for hunting and navigation. Continuous exposure might change how they behave.
4. Noise and Whale Migration
The increasing issue of underwater noise pollution, which disrupts whale migration routes and communication, is exacerbated by cable-laying operations.
5. Leaks of Chemicals
Small amounts of materials, such as hydraulic fluids or polyethylene, may leak from damaged cables, though this is uncommon. In delicate settings, this could build up over time.
The Unspoken Cost of Carbon
There is an impact on the climate in addition to ecology.
- Steel, copper, and plastics—all of which have carbon footprints—are needed to make cables.
- Over the course of their months-long expeditions, cable-laying ships consume enormous amounts of fuel.
- Emissions are increased by maintenance operations (when cables break from earthquakes, anchors, or fishing gear).
These effects are a part of the internet's overall carbon footprint, even though they are far less significant than those of data centers or satellites.
Are Cables More Secure Than Satellites?
When compared to satellite internet, some contend that submarine cables are still the "greenest" choice:
- Launching satellites requires rockets, which emit tons of CO2.
- Astronomy is impacted by satellite constellations' contributions to light pollution and space debris.
- Satellites have higher latency (signal delay), which makes cables more effective.
Therefore, cables are still the most environmentally friendly backbone when compared to other options, despite their hidden costs. Reducing their impact on the ocean is the challenge.
Ways to Make the Undersea Internet Greener
The good news is that regulators, engineers, and researchers are trying to find ways to lessen the impact of submarine cables.
- Sustainable Routing: Avoid delicate ecosystems like seagrass beds, coral reefs, and whale migration routes by using AI and mapping.
- Better Cable Architecture: minimizing the use of hazardous chemicals and creating biodegradable coatings.
- Reduction of Noise: quieter propellers and engines for ships that lay cables.
- Protected Marine Areas: limiting cable routes in areas that are important for biodiversity.
- Infrastructure Sharing: Shared networks could lessen the overall environmental impact rather than each company installing its own cables.
- Offsets of Carbon: To offset emissions from the installation of cables, businesses could make investments in ocean conservation.
The Tech Giants' Role
Given their extensive cable holdings, Google, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft have an obligation to address environmental issues. These businesses have already made investments in data centers using renewable energy; sustainable ocean infrastructure is the next logical step.
Imagine if funds for marine restoration initiatives, such as restoring coral reefs or preserving whale habitats, were part of every new cable project. There would be enormous positive knock-on effects.
The Bigger Picture: Ecology vs. the Internet
We are forced to consider the following questions by the hidden story of submarine cables:
- How can we strike a balance between ocean health and our desire for faster internet?
- For global connectivity, are we prepared to pay a certain ecological price?
- Is it possible for technology to support both environmental preservation and digital growth?
As with many aspects of contemporary technology, responsible innovation is crucial.
Gazing Ahead
The demand for bandwidth will skyrocket over the next ten years as a result of streaming, cloud computing, AI, and remote work. There will be more cables installed, some of which will link continents that do not yet have high-speed internet.
This presents a challenge as well as an opportunity. We can prevent the digital ocean highway from destroying the natural ocean ecosystems on which we rely if sustainability is incorporated into cable projects now.
In conclusion, a hidden network with obvious effects
Although most of us cannot see them, underwater internet cables are one of the most crucial pieces of modern infrastructure. Our digital, globalized world would come to a complete stop without them.
However, there are actual environmental costs associated with their installation and presence, including disturbance of the seabed, noise pollution, and possible effects on marine life.
Making this technology sustainable rather than abandoning it is the challenge for the future. The health of our oceans and the backbone of the internet can coexist with better planning, greener engineering, and corporate responsibility.
After all, if the ecosystems that support life—both above and below the waves—are destroyed, then a connected world is pointless.