Arrowsmith next to unused fiber optic cables (dark fiber), which have been transformed into seismic sensors that detect vibrations.

Sharma reads data collected by the DAS interrogator.

SMU professor Stephen Arrowsmith and postdoctoral fellow Jyoti Sharma look at DAS readings on the SMU campus.

Underneath SMU’s well-groomed lawns and red brick buildings are thousands of unused fiber optic cable – “dark fiber” – earmarked for future use. Working with SMU’s Office of Information Technology, Sharma and Arrowsmith are exploiting imperfections in the communication fibers to detect seismic vibrations, both near and far.