Distributed Acoustic Sensing: A New Tool or a New Paradigm

Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) is a technology that uses a fiber optic cable as a linear array of virtual seismic sensors. The article allows the reader to learn a little more about DAS data, mainly from the theoretical viewpoint, and correct some existing misconceptions; it gives an overview of the development of DAS and its modifications. The objective of this work is to discuss the advantages and prospects of distributed fiber optic sensors and the possibilities of expanding the boundaries of their practical applications and to clarify the problems and limitations faced by seismologists using DAS. Ways of overcoming the existing limitations are also described. The article identifies areas which need to be developed for wider dissemination of distributed measurements; it lists some commercialized applications and applications in which experiments will soon turn into routine geophysical measurements.