Call for Proposals - Underwater Infrastructure

The seas and oceans are home to infrastructures of the most diverse areas. Communication routes between different continents run underwater. Different types of raw material extraction are located on underwater infrastructure. In addition, energy, in the form of gas, electricity or oil, is transported in submerged pipelines. The living animals of our world run underwater. The destruction of the Nordstream_leitung in the Baltic Sea has shown how vulnerable submerged infrastructure is. Whether it's energy supply or community action, attacks on underwater infrastructure can have enormous consequences. At the same time, the infrastructure must be monitored and protected. 1. This study provides an inventory of the most important subsea connections in the areas of communication and energy supply and their capacities. In addition, attempts are being made to estimate the effects of an interruption of these lines. In doing so, we try to list as many reliable figures and data as possible. 2. In addition, the dangers for underwater infrastructure are presented. Known cases are evaluated and other technical scenarios are thought through. The risks should be quantifiable, so that the study provides an assessment of which actors would be able to use which form of sabotage. Furthermore, it should be listed which underwater infrastructure, e.g. with regard to the water depth, which risk would be affected. 3. Finally, the study attempts to make recommendations on the technical means with which underwater infrastructure can be protected. The India Office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) is pleased to announce a call for proposals for a paper on the hitherto under-explored topic of “Underwater Infrastructure”.