Earth Is Shaking a Lot Less Now That Everyone Is Staying Home

General view of the empty Alma bridge, in front of the Eiffel tower, while the city imposes emergency measures to combat the Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, on March 17, 2020 in Paris, France. Edward Berthelot / Getty Images Half the world is on lockdown . So, the constant hum of cars, trucks, trains and heavy machinery has stopped, drastically reducing the intensity of the vibrations rippling through the Earth’s crust. Seismologists, who use highly sensitive equipment, have noticed a difference in the hum caused by human activity, according to Fast Company . In Belgium, scientists report at least a 30 percent reduction in that amount of ambient human noise since lockdown began there, according to Popular Mechanics . Scientists say this may be beneficial to seismologists, as it will allow them to detect minor earthquakes and to improve their tracking of volcanic activity and other seismic events, as Nature reported . Thomas Lecocq, a geologist and seismologist at the Royal Observatory in Belgium, first pointed out the phenomenon, according to CNN . He noticed the 30 to 50 percent reduction since the country started its social distancing measures in mid-March and businesses and industries shut down. Lecocq said the vibrations […]

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