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Abstract The Joint Task Force, Science Monitoring And Reliable Telecommunications (SMART) Subsea Cables is working to integrate environmental sensors (temperature, pressure, seismic acceleration) into submarine telecommunications cables. This will support climate and ocean observation, sea-level monitoring, observations of Earth structure, tsunami and earthquake early warning, and disaster risk reduction. Recent advances include regional SMART pilot systems that are the initial steps to trans-ocean and global implementation. Building on the OceanObs'19conference and community white paper (https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00424), this paper presents an overview of the initiative and a description of ongoing projects including: InSea wet demonstration project off Sicily; Vanuatu and New Caledonia; Indonesia; CAM-2 ring system connecting the Portuguese mainland, Azores, and Madeira; New Zealand; and Antarctica. In addition to the diverse scientific and societal benefits, the telecommunications industry's mission of societal connectivity will also benefit because environmental awareness improves both individual cable system integrity and the resilience of the overall global communications network. 

Abstract The ocean has recently taken centre stage in the global geopolitical landscape. Despite rising challenges to the effectiveness of multilateralism, attention to ocean issues appears as an opportunity to co-create pathways to ocean sustainability at multiple levels. The ocean science community, however, is not sufficiently well organised to advance these pathways and provide policy input. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services demonstrate how knowledge consensus and integration have been instrumental in charting global pathways and eliciting commitments to address, respectively, climate change and biodiversity loss. An equally impactful global platform with a thematic focus on ocean sustainability is needed. Here we introduce the International Panel for Ocean Sustainability (IPOS) as a coordinating mechanism to integrate knowledge systems to forge a bridge across ocean science-policy divides collectively. The IPOS will enrich the global policy debate in the Ocean Decade and support a shift toward ocean sustainability. 

The Joint Task Force, Science Monitoring And Reliable Telecommunications (JTF SMART) Subsea Cables, is working to integrate environmental sensors for ocean bottom temperature, pressure, and seismic acceleration into submarine telecommunications cables. The purpose of SMART Cables is to support climate and ocean observation, sea level monitoring, observations of Earth structure, and tsunami and earthquake early warning and disaster risk reduction, including hazard quantification. Recent advances include regional SMART pilot systems that are the first steps to trans -ocean and global implementation. Examples of pilots include: InSEA wet demonstration project off Sicily at the European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and water column Observatory Western Ionian Facility; New Caledonia and Vanuatu; French Polynesia Natitua South system connecting Tahiti to Tubaui to the south; Indonesia starting with short pilot systems working toward systems for the Sumatra-Java megathrust zone; and the CAM-2 ring system connecting Lisbon, Azores, and Madeira. This paper describes observing system simulations for these and other regions. Funding reflects a blend of government, development bank, philanthropic foundation, and commercial contributions. In addition to notable scientific and societal benefits, the telecommunications enterprise’s mission of global connectivity will benefit directly, as environmental awareness improves both the integrity of individual cable systems as well as the resilience of the overall global communications network. SMART cables support the outcomes of a predicted, safe, and transparent ocean as envisioned by the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the Blue Economy. As a continuation of the OceanObs’19 conference and community white paper ( Howe et al., 2019 , doi: 10.3389/fmars.2019.00424 ), an overview of the SMART programme and a description of the status of ongoing projects are given.