Even though the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is affecting the population’s wellbeing on a global scale, the measures taken against the spread of the virus are bringing good news to the environment. According to scientists, the lockdown imposed by the government is considering reducing the seismic vibrations on the Earth.
The NOAA ESRL Inrasonics Program is determining the seismical activity employing sensitive equipment. The geological disruptions, such as volcanic eruptions or avalanches, produce low-frequency sounds that cannot be listened to without proper equipment.
The most notable seismic tracking terminal was spotted in Brussels, as per Emily Wollin, a rock specialist from the United States Geological study in New Mexico. Some of the terminals in Berlin are situated in remote areas of the city. Therefore, for these terminals, there is probably no change at all in the numbers of the frequency noise.
The Earth shakes less thanks to the coronavirus isolation
However, in busy areas, such reductions in the seismic noises are spotted only during the Christmas period. This theory is supported by Thomas Lecocq, a seismologist working for the Royal Observatory in Brussels.
In these regions, the vibrations coming from trucks or industrial equipment are causing the movement of the Earth’s crust. These occurrences reduce the ability of seismologists to determine other signals that are taking place during the same time and uniformity.
This recent fall in the industrial activity is helping researchers to determine the Earth’s crust characteristics with the help of the sounds coming from the crashing sea waves. The fall caused in the sounds determined by daily human activities has identified an increase in the sensitivity function of the detectors of natural waves at different frequencies.
The Belgian seismologists are not the only ones that can proudly present their discovery. The same phenomena are happening all around the world. For example, Celeste Labedz, a seismologist from the California Institute of Modern Technology, is reposting the same amount of drop in the industrial sounds, happening as well in Los Angeles, and all related to the coronavirus isolation.
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