OH MY GOD we imagine the absolute worst thing in the world must be diving around in the middle of the sea and not being able to post the spectacle to Instagram.

An experimental underwater internet network has been successfully tested by researchers in the University of Buffalo.

While checking in to Facebook might be your first port of call, the deep-sea internet’s intended use is more crucial. Lead researcher Tommaso Melodia, says that the discovery could potentially be massive and can help save lives given its ability to detect tsunamis with a larger efficiency, provide crucial surveillance and pollution monitoring, among other activities.

We could even use it to monitor fish and marine mammals, and find out how to best protect them from shipping traffic and other dangers. An Internet underwater has so many possibilities.

However, setting up a network for the fishes is not as easy as throwing in a router or two. The on-land internet operates by radio waves, but these can’t transmit underwater. Therefore, taking out your phone during a deep-sea dive is not only silly and will deem it unusable, it’s a waste of time as your 3G network will most certainly not be working.

The team of researchers took inspiration from submarines’ sonar powered navigation systems to create an internet system that ran on sound waves, which travel much better underwater.

They attached 40lb sensors to bouys that could convert sound waves to radio waves, dropped it in the ocean and hoped for the best. The team detected a series of high-pitched chirps that indicated a successful test, and we could all now be on our way to Snapchatting with the fishes.

Douglas Levere / University at Buffalo Douglas Levere / University at Buffalo / University at Buffalo

If this is just not enough detail for you, you might like to check out the paper here, smartass.

How many of these old Cadbury wrappers do you remember?>

Nokia just posted this on their Facebook page…>