A weather bomb around Greenland caused seismic tremors as far away as Japan, and when researchers went to investigate, they made a rare discovery.
A weather bomb around Greenland caused seismic tremors as far away as Japan, and when researchers went to investigate, they made a rare discovery.
New Scientist reports that the massive storm which triggered this activity was recorded in the North Atlantic Ocean in December 2014.
A team in Japan decided to analyze the subterranean effects with data collected from an area in the country’s southern region which has a high density of seismic detectors.
As described in their recently published study, they detected P waves, which are commonly observed entities that compress and expand in a rapid motion.
However, they were also able to measure the slower moving S waves which, according to the BBC, have “never been traced to its source before.”
The article goes on note that, in an earthquake, “S waves arrive second and do the serious shaking.”
Scientists believe this more robust data will enhance their understanding of the Earth’s depths.
As one seismologist explains to New Scientist, “Because S-waves have shorter wavelengths than P-waves, smaller-scale vertical and lateral variations in Earth’s structure can potentially be imaged.”
