Lake waves penetrate, disturb the surrounding earth

According to new seismic research, the waves rolling across the top of lake cause the surrounding earth to rumble. Imperceptible at the shoreline surface, the earth-penetrating ripples are just strong enough to be picked up by seismometers.

"It's kind of a new phenomenon," Keith Koper, director of the University of Utah Seismograph Stations, said in a news release. "We don't really know how it's created."

Researchers believe the newly discovered phenomenon will allow them to study the geology surrounding lakes, as well as analyze when and how lakes freeze and thaw.

Ocean waves create similar seismic background noise in coastal regions. The waves, called microseisms, are produced by the interactions and collisions between ocean waves and the ocean floor.

"We've recently found that the waves on lakes actually generate these microseisms too," Koper said.

Scientists have previously recorded microseisms near the Great Lakes, as well as Utah's Great Salt Lake. In a new study on the phenomenon -- published this week in the Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth -- researchers detailed these recordings as well as microseism observations made near Yellowstone Lake and three lakes in China.

By averaging the patterns of microseisms of a long period of time, scientists can generate a kind of background seismic signature for a region surrounding a lake.

Because seismic waves change as they travel through different types of materials, they can offer a kind of CT scan of the geology surrounding a lake. Some of the microseisms may even reach far enough to help scientists study fault lines near lake regions -- like the Wasatch Fault, which runs beneath Salt Lake City.

Seismic waves also cease as lakes freeze, and resume when they thaw, so seismometers could help satellites track the timing of a lake's freezing and thawing.

Researchers plan to install a variety of new seismometers and other devices in Yellowstone Lake next summer in order to better understand the phenomenon.

"If we can record at the same time on land and underwater, we can get a better idea of how these things are generated," Koper said.

Magnitude-6.3 earthquake strikes northern Chile: USGS
Washington (AFP) Oct 10, 2017
A 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck northern Chile early Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said. The tremor hit 70 kilometers (43 miles) east of the coastal city of Arica, which is near the border with Peru, the US agency said. The quake struck at a depth of 82 kilometers, it added. Chile is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries. In the past seven years it has had three qu ... read more

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal