Podcast Summary
Challenging assumptions in seismology: Professor Wen Yuen Fan's discovery of seasonal seismic activity off the coast of Canada challenged the belief that earthquakes are not seasonal, emphasizing the importance of considering environmental factors in understanding seismic activity.
The BBC provides valuable information and inspiration through storytelling, encouraging us to think critically about the world. A notable example of this comes from the field of seismology, where professor Wen Yuen Fan's discovery of seasonal seismic activity off the coast of Canada challenged long-held assumptions. Initially, he believed he had found a precursor to a major earthquake, but further investigation revealed that these smaller earthquakes occurred every winter, regardless of whether a larger earthquake followed. This discovery challenged the belief that earthquakes are not seasonal, and instead highlighted the importance of considering environmental factors in understanding seismic activity. The BBC's role in sharing such discoveries adds depth and nuance to our understanding of the world, making us think in new and exciting ways.
Discovering the Connection Between Storms and Seismic Activity: Scientists found that storms can cause small quakes beneath the ocean floor, expanding our understanding of the ocean's geological processes and potentially leading to advancements in earthquake prediction and ocean exploration.
A team of scientists, led by Wen Yuen Fan, discovered a new seismic phenomenon they named "storm quakes." These are small quakes beneath the ocean floor, typically around 3.5 in magnitude, caused by storms out at sea. The connection between storms and seismic activity was uncovered when the researchers synced records of storms with seismic activity beneath the ocean floor. This discovery, though seemingly small, is significant because it expands our understanding of the ocean's geological processes. It also highlights the importance of waves in shaping the Earth, as outlined in Wen Yuen and his colleagues' paper in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. This new knowledge could potentially lead to advancements in earthquake prediction and ocean exploration.
Storms and ocean banks cause underwater seismic activities known as storm quakes: Storms interacting with specific ocean banks can lead to underwater seismic activities called storm quakes
Large storms can lead to a phenomenon called storm quakes, which are felt underwater. This correlation was discovered by Wen Yuan during his research in the Pacific Northwest, where he noticed that seismic activity was more common during stormy days. However, not all storms result in quakes, as it depends on the specific combination of strong ocean waves interacting with the right type of seafloor topography, particularly ocean banks. These underwater hills can amplify the impact of ocean waves on the seafloor, leading to storm quakes. For instance, off the coast of New England, where there are no earthquakes due to the absence of faults, stormy days are still associated with such underwater seismic activities. So, the interaction between storms and ocean banks plays a crucial role in generating storm quakes.
Storm quakes caused by interaction of waves and seafloor topography: Storm quakes occur frequently off US coasts due to interaction of ocean waves with seafloor topography, yet may go unnoticed due to vast seismic data.
Storms dragging the ocean's surface create infragravity waves with longer wavelengths that can interact with the seafloor topography, leading to the phenomenon known as storm quakes. These storm quakes, which occur when the ocean waves interact with the fixed seafloor topography, were found to have occurred over 14,000 times off both US coasts over a 9-year period beginning in 2006. Despite this high frequency, they may have gone unnoticed due to the vast amounts of seismic data being recorded by thousands of sensors worldwide. In essence, the physics of waves, whether moving or stationary, lead to an almost inevitable interaction that results in storm quakes.
Discovering New Phenomena in Seismic Data: A new method to process large-scale seismic data led to the discovery of 'storm quakes,' seismic signals produced by intense storms interacting with the seafloor, providing new insights into Earth's subsurface structures.
A significant amount of seismic data, which was previously thought to be primarily related to earthquakes, actually records various other phenomena, such as cars passing by, ocean sounds, and even dance lessons. This overwhelming amount of data made it challenging for researchers to extract useful information until they developed a new method to process continuous data on a large scale. This breakthrough led to the discovery of "storm quakes," which are seismic signals produced by intense storms interacting with the seafloor. These storm quakes can provide new insights into Earth's subsurface structures and potentially long-term tectonics. Traditionally, seismologists rely on clear, simple, and recognizable signals to image the Earth's structures. Storm quakes act as "flashlights" traveling through the Earth, illuminating previously unknown areas, allowing researchers to gather valuable information about the Earth's structure below the ocean floor. Wenyuan Wu and his colleagues still have many questions about storm quakes, but their discovery could open up an entirely new source of information about the Earth's interior. By studying storm quakes, scientists may be able to answer questions about what lies beneath the Earth's surface.
Supporting Team and Sponsors: This podcast is a team effort from various individuals and is supported by Easycater and The Bid from BlackRock.
The production of this podcast involves a team effort from various individuals, including Brent Bachman as the producer, Emily Vaughn as the fact checker, and Viet Lai as the editor, who is celebrating his birthday today. We're grateful for their contributions. Additionally, this podcast is supported by Easycater, a company that helps businesses manage their food needs, and BlackRock's podcast, The Bid. Easycater offers solutions from employee meal plans to on-site staffing, while The Bid provides market insights from BlackRock's thought leaders. Larry Fink, BlackRock's chairman and CEO, discussed challenges facing investors on the latest episode of The Bid. These challenges include retirement and other issues where global capital markets play a role in finding solutions. Listen to The Bid for more insights from BlackRock's leadership.
