Scientists at the National Physical Laboratory on Hampton Road have helped develop a new way of detecting underwater earthquakes that could save up to £753 million.

Researchers used telecoms cables already under our oceans as ‘acoustic sensors’ to detect earthquake-induced vibrations along the length of the cable.

Currently, the majority of earthquake monitoring stations are on land because it is so expensive to locate them out at sea.

By using this new technique, a global network for underwater earthquake monitoring could be implemented without the need to install additional devices on the seafloor.

The technique could increase the number of earthquakes detected worldwide, track the migration of whales and even help better predict tsunamis.

In the future, the technique could be used to ensure precious life-saving warning time in the event of tsunamis caused by underwater earthquakes or changes in volcanic structure.

The project was carried out in collaboration with researchers at Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica in Italy, the British Geological Survey and the University of Malta.

Giuseppe Marra, Senior Research Scientist at the National Physical Laboratory and lead author on the paper, said: “Installing a large array of ocean bottom sensors is a very challenging and expensive task.

“We have now discovered there is a solution at hand, which relies on existing infrastructure rather than on new installations. A great new tool for research in geophysics and other areas of science.

Dr JT Janssen, Director of Research at NPL, said: “This work is testament to the importance of collaboration in innovative research projects.

“NPL is proud to have led scientists from the UK, Italy and Malta, in coming together to find a creative global solution to a world-wide problem that has long frustrated seismologists.”