Penn State and Carnegie Mellon researchers track geohazards with DQE fiber network

In many cities, aging infrastructure, climate change, and urban geohazards – such as flooding, sewer leaks, and landslides – combine to pose a significant threat. These issues impact the safety of urban communities and place a disproportionate burden on disadvantaged neighborhoods, which often face increased risk of these environmental hazards.

To address these issues, Penn State and Carnegie Mellon researchers are piloting a project in Pittsburgh that connects Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) equipment to DQE’s extensive fiber-optic cable network in downtown Pittsburgh to monitor these geohazards. The in-kind support of more than $45,000 also contributed internet connectivity, as well as space and power for the team’s equipment at DQE’s Fourth Avenue colocation facility, which provides a secure, climate-controlled, state-of-the-art environment for data storage.

DAS detects nanoscale vibrations in fiber-optic cables to identify hazards like sinkholes, landslides, flooding, and leaking pipes. These real-time signals analyzed through machine learning, can detect early warning signs of hazards, such as soil shifts that precede landslides or pressure changes indicative of a pipe leak.

The PSU team chose Pittsburgh for the project due to its aging infrastructure, complex geology, and history of landslides. In addition to DQE, the research team worked with local stakeholders, including the City of Pittsburgh’s Department of City Planning and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority.

This innovative use of fiber optics and DAS technology could pave the way for widespread implementation in cities with similar geohazard risks, transforming how urban infrastructure challenges are managed.

CMU’s Metro21: Smart Cities Institute Awarded National Science Foundation ‘Civic Innovation Challenge’ Grant | Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College

Using machine learning, existing fiber optic cables to track Pittsburgh hazards | Penn State University