U Oregon Study - 4,000 Miles Of Fiber Optic Cable, 1,101 Nodes At Risk From SLR W/I 15 Years

[hatrack]

In this paper we consider the risks to Internet infrastructure in the US due to sea level rise. Our study is based on sea level incursion projections from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) [12] and Internet infrastructure deployment data from Internet Atlas [24]. We align the data formats and assess risks in terms of the amount and type of infrastructure that will be under water in different time intervals over the next 100 years. We find that4,067 miles of fiber conduit will be under water and 1,101nodes (e.g.,points of presence and colocation centers) will be surrounded by water in the next 15 years. We further quantify the risks of sea level rise by defining a metric that considers the combination of geographic scope and Internet infrastructure density. We use this metric to examine different regions and find that the New York, Miami, and Seattle.

EDIT

The results of our analysis show that climate change-related sea level incursions could have a devastating impact on Internet communication infrastructure even in the relatively short term. In particular, we find that 1,186 miles of long-haul fiber conduit and 2,429 miles of metro fiber conduit will be underwater in the next 15 years. Similarly, we find that 1,101 termination points will be surrounded by seawater in the next 15 years. Given the fact that most fiber conduit is underground, we expect the effects of sea level rise could be felt well before the 15 year horizon. Interestingly,we find that the risks over longer time scales do not increase significantly. Specifically, there is only a modest increase in the amount of additional Internet infrastructure that will be
under water at the 6 ft. rise level (the 100 year projection) vs.the 1 ft. rise level (the 15 year prediction).

To assess the risk of sea level incursions in specific geographic areas, we define the Coastal Infrastructure Risk (CIR)metric that considers the combination of geographic scope and Internet infrastructure density. We use the CIR metric to examine coastal regions in the US with high population density. Our results show that communication infrastructure in New York, Miami, and Seattle, respectively, are at high-est risk. We also quantify the impact to individual service providers and find that CenturyLink, Intelliquent (formerly Tinet), and AT&T are at highest risk. These results highlight where developing mitigation strategies and planning alter-native deployments should begin in order to preserve both local and long haul assets metropolitan areas are at highest risk. We also quantify the risks to individual service provider infrastructures and find that CenturyLink, Inteliquent, and AT&T are at highest risk.While it is difficult to project the impact of countermeasures such as sea walls, our results suggest the urgency of developing mitigation strategies and alternative infrastructure deployments.

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https://www.nearshoreamericas.com/rising-sea-levels-pose-threat-fibre-optic-cables-coastal-cities-study/

[Bernardo de La Paz]

1. In the meantime we are supposed to look for oranges of investigation. . . . nt