With life on pause, ‘seismic noise’ levels are three times lower than normal
Open your window. Listen.
Nothing but tweeting birds and a child’s giggle down the street to be heard?
Covid-19 lockdown restrictions have halted everyday life across the globe and geoscientists have now revealed some fascinating facts about the effects of the shut down on our environment.
Levels of human-made ground vibrations and rumbles, also known as ‘seismic noise’ are up to three times lower now than they were before the lockdown, a rare event that is producing some fascinating discoveries about the ambient noise we usually live with but rarely notice.
According to seismologists at Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS), the dramatic decrease in human activity in the past few weeks, worldwide social restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic affect not only levels of air pollution, but also how much the ground beneath our feet vibrates.
“Our day-to-day lives result in small ground movements – for example, by cars, trains, building sites and other industries. These human-induced vibrations, called seismic noise by seismologists, vary with the human activity,” explains Dr Martin Möllhoff, Director of Seismic Networks at DIAS.
“With the current Covid-19 restrictions on human movement, INSN seismic noise levels have been markedly reduced. In Ireland, seismic noise levels are now up to three times lower than they were before the restrictions were introduced.”
A break from the noise
Out in the ocean, the marine wildlife is likely to be enjoying the break: seismic noise has been shown to disturb the underwater ecosystem, growing out the sounds made by fish, whales, dolphins and other wildlife to communicate and find food.
The findings also show that the public is sticking to the rules as far as social distancing goes:
“Such lowered seismic noise levels can enhance the capability of a seismic network to detect small earthquakes and are a testament to the high levels of compliance with Covid-19 movement restrictions,” added Professor Chris Bean, Head of the Geophysics Section and Director of the School of Cosmic Physics at DIAS.
