Underwater cables have been used for over 150 years to open up communications between continents, starting with the telegraph. They've been used for carrying internet data across the ocean since 1988, when the first internet cable (recently pulled from the ocean) was installed. These cables can be used for more than just their intended purposes, and scientists from the University of Washington are trying to use them to monitor whale movement and behavior in the hopes that the data can protect endangered orcas. The UW team, led by oceanographer Dr. Shima Abadi, will monitor Southern Resident orcas in the area for two years. As Abadi told The Associated Press, the cables allow researchers to "know where the animals are and learn about their migration patterns."