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There are many sensors around the world that monitor vibrations from the Earth’s surface. The information they collect helps to study and predict earthquakes. Seismology, which is just one branch of geophysical science, will help people prepare for earthquakes at some point in the future because they will be able to predict them very accurately.
Researchers from Switzerland and Belgium analyzed data from up to 300 sensors. These seismological sensors are worldwide: some are above ground, others deep enough underground. The researchers noted a significant reduction in seismic vibrations in mid-March. This, by the way, was predictable since COVID-19 closed people in their homes. The streets were empty: There were no more cars or buses here, and some construction projects stopped.
Scientists say the silent wave spread across the world: it started in China and then traveled west. In cities, the intensity of seismic vibrations decreased by up to 50 percent. Investigators say the workday in Switzerland under seismic vibrations in mid-March was reminiscent of a weekend before the pandemic. Because the COVID-19 quarantine lasted more than a month, the researchers say it was the longest seismically period in the study’s history.
Can you believe it? Just by closing the house and not traveling, we made the earth calm down: it vibrated less than in the entire history of precise seismological research.
The fact that seismic vibrations have decreased in cities is not surprising. However, the researchers noted that the silent wave also reached regions of sub-Saharan Africa, which are less populated and less affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The reduced seismic noise was also detected by sensors installed particularly deep underground. Scientists say it only shows how everything on earth is connected: Human-induced vibrations go beyond what we can imagine.
This is not just an interesting observation. The researchers say that human-induced seismic noise sometimes interferes with the research. Such a long period of silence makes it possible to assess human exposure and refine future research.
The study is available HERE.
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