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Within 15 years, some of the physical infrastructure of the Internet will be affected by rising water levels.
According to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Oregon and the University of In Wisconsin-Madison, thousands of kilometers of fiber optic cable buried in densely populated coastal areas of the United States may soon be inundated by rising water levels.
The study, presented at a meeting of researchers from Internet network, describes the delicate situation in which lies the infrastructure of the "physical" Internet, which could be overwhelmed by the rise of the sea in fifteen years. " Most of the damage that will be done in the next 100 years will be more" early "than" late "," says Paul Barford, lead author of the study.
Optical fiber cables that are buried, data centers, traffic centers and end points that form the backbone of the global communications network are under threat. " It surprised us, we were expecting to be 50 years old to plan this, but we are no longer 50 years old ," adds Paul Barford.
This is the first study to evaluate the dangers of global warming on the Internet. By the year 2033, more than 6400 km of fiber optic cables and more than 1100 traffic centers will be immersed or surrounded by water. The cities of Seattle, New York and Miami will be the most affected. These disturbances may also have a negative effect on the overall communications network.
Much of the physical infrastructure of the Internet is buried, and the cables follow established major routes such as highways and coasts: " When the infrastructure was built 20-25 years ago, global warming was not an issue "says Barford.
According to Barford, the place where transoceanic cables that connect the global communication network arrive on land is at the level of major coastal cities. " The points of arrival will be under water in a short time ," adds Brarford.
" This is a real danger to the Internet, we have to find a way to solve the problem ", Paul Brarford ends.
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