INGV Installs 35 km Electro-Optical Cable off Catania for Deep-Sea Monitoring
In March 2026, the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) completed the installation of a new submarine electro-optical cable off the coast of Catania, Italy, significantly enhancing deep-sea observation capabilities in the Mediterranean .
The approximately 35 km cable connects the shore station in the port of Catania to the Western Ionian Sea (WIS) site, located about 2,000 metres deep . Equipped with 24 optical fibres, the system enables real-time transmission of large amounts of data from seabed observatories while also ensuring their power supply .
The intervention represents an important advancement in observation and monitoring capabilities of the deep sea in the Mediterranean. The infrastructure is jointly managed by INGV and INFN and is part of the European consortium EMSO ERIC (European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and water column Observatory) .
According to David Embriaco, responsible for the INGV WIS activity: "Thanks to this intervention, the operational life of the infrastructure... will be extended by at least another 20 years, guaranteeing continuity and stability to research activities in the long term"
