The Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN) is coordinating the European ATLAS project (Atlantic Tracking with Lightwave Acoustic Sensing) in the Archipelago, an initiative that strengthens Europe’s role at the forefront of ocean observation and environmental protection in the Atlantic arc.
ATLAS transforms existing submarine fiber optic cables into a network of acoustic sensors capable of capturing vibrations and sounds from the marine environment in real time, enabling the detection of large cetaceans, mapping of noise generated by human activities, and enhancing alerts for underwater earthquakes and landslides.
“With this information, processed using artificial intelligence, ATLAS will help reduce collisions between ships and whales, understand and mitigate marine noise pollution, and improve the detection of potential geological hazards along the Atlantic,” explained the project’s technical coordinator, Eric Delory, head of PLOCAN’s observatory.
ATLAS is an Interreg Atlantic Area research project running until early 2028, with funding of €3.4 million, 75% co-financed by FEDER funds. Led by PLOCAN (Spain), it brings together companies, centers of excellence, and associated entities from various countries, including Canarias Submarine Link (CANALINK, Spain), University College Cork (MaREI, Ireland), and the Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Informática, Tecnologia e Ciência (INESCTEC, Portugal).
Also participating are GREENOV-ITES and MOOD Conseil (France), the Centre d’Études et d’Expertise sur les Risques, l’Environnement, la Mobilité et l’Aménagement (CEREMA, France), the Service Hydrographique et Océanographique de la Marine (SHOM, France), and two associated entities: the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and the Central Management Office (CMO) of the European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and Water Column Observatory Consortium (EMSO ERIC).
The key to this initiative is to test and design services based on DAS (Distributed Acoustic Sensing) technology, which can measure, through changes in light pulses traveling through fiber optic cables, alterations caused by natural and human sources—from passing ships to the vocalizations of large cetaceans emitting low frequencies.
Thus, ATLAS will develop advanced systems for data acquisition, calibration, and validation, to transform submarine cables into multipurpose observation platforms, utilizing existing telecommunications submarine cables.
In addition to collecting scientific data in real time, the project will create a digital platform to share this information with interested parties and help research efforts. The data will be available in standardized formats useful for authorities responsible for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), as well as platforms like EMODnet and Copernicus and maritime operators.
ATLAS is a science- and innovation-centered initiative, where AI-driven technology aims to improve our understanding of the ocean and bolster security against natural risks.
The initiative will operate pilot sites in the Canary Islands, Ireland, and Portugal—territories with intense maritime traffic, the presence of cetaceans, and exposure to geological risks. In the Canary archipelago, ATLAS will leverage collaboration with CANALINK for access to regional cables and to ensure the system remains operational after the project’s completion, strengthening regional monitoring capabilities.
One of ATLAS’s key goals is to ensure the initiative’s benefits reach citizens, biodiversity, authorities, and the maritime sector: alerts for sailors in cetacean zones, protecting their survival; objective evidence to mitigate submarine noise; and early warning signals that enhance resilience against seismic events at sea. In the Atlantic, these measures are particularly relevant due to the volume of traffic and the risk of interaction with species such as the fin whale.
“With ATLAS, we are making a qualitative leap. By combining DAS and artificial intelligence, we turn existing submarine telecommunications cables into tools for protecting the ocean and people, with a highly favorable cost-benefit ratio,” stated coordinator Eric Delory.
“From the Canary Islands and alongside our European partners, we will integrate real-time acoustic data, moving from sporadic observations to continuous surveillance across tens and hundreds of kilometers, with tangible benefits for biodiversity and coastal and maritime safety at the Atlantic scale. The project will assess the potential of the technology to deploy operational services in the Canary Islands, Ireland, and Portugal,” he concluded.
