sciencetech-blog

comments

If you've ever been in a stadium during a sporting event, you'll know it can feel like the ground beneath your feet is moving when people celebrate a major moment.

But scientists think this is literally happening at certain events - with particularly rowdy fans causing minor earthquakes.

And this weekend they will perform the most accurate study yet, at an American football game, to see how big the earthquakes caused really are.

Scientists from University of Washington will use sensors to see the strength of earthquakes caused by cheering fans (CenturyLink Field stadium shown). The experiment will take place at an American football game in Seattle on Sunday. They hope to get readings 10 times more reliable than before

The scientists from the University of Washington and the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network will perform the study at a game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Carolina Panthers at 5:15pm local time on Sunday 11 January.

Taking place at the CenturyLink Field in downtown Seattle, 67,000 fans are expected to be present and roaring their team to victory.

Using sensors strategically placed around the stadium, the researchers will then measure how the extent of their cheering and stamping.

The researchers will also use a website called QuickShake to gather data from fans.

Scientists first got interested in football when a seismometer a block away from the stadium showed vibrations during a 'legendary' touchdown by Seattle's Marshawn Lynch on 8 January 2011.

This resulted in what is now called a 'Beast Quake' - when the energetic jumping and stomping of so many fans at once shook the stadium and reverberated through the surrounding soil.

Previous studies by the scientists have shown the quake produced can be a magnitude one or two.

Now they hope to gather data that is ten times more reliable than some they gathered last year.

'We're mostly interested in the speed and the reliability of the communications,' said Dr John Vidale, a UW professor of Earth and space sciences and director of the seismic network.

'It's hard to simulate thousands of people using this tool all at once. When we can get a lot of people looking, we can see problems that we'd encounter during an actual earthquake.' 

The researchers will use a website called QuickShake to gather data from fans from three sensors (shown). Scientists first got interested in football when a seismometer a block away from the stadium showed vibrations during a 'legendary' touchdown by Seattle's Marshawn Lynch on 8 January 2011

The scientists will be hoping for some 'groundbreaking' moments in the game this Sunday to put their sensors to the test. Pictured is Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Ricardo Lockette carrying the ball against the New Orleans Saints in the second half of a game in December 2013

The foot-stomping is a real-world test of technology to detect the bigger shaking that originates underground.

The seismic group is working with the US Geological Survey (USGS) to offer early warnings for the Pacific Northwest that could provide tens of seconds to several minutes' notice of an incoming strong shaking.

This year some public agencies and large businesses will have a first chance to try out the system that will eventually be available to the public.

'The Seahawks experiment should provide us and the internet-connected public with a feel for the minimum time early warning might provide,' said Dr Steve Malone, a UW professor emeritus of Earth & space sciences.

'In this case it's football fan activity that generates a signal as a warning for what shows up on TV some seconds later. In the future, it might be seconds to minutes of warning after an earthquake starts.'

The scientists from the University of Washington and the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network will perform the study at a game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Carolina Panthers at 5:15pm local time on Sunday 11 January at the CenturyLink Field stadium (shown) in downtown Seattle, with 67,000 fans expected

As several pieces of seismic monitoring equipment sit on the floor, a scientist does a 'stomp test' to check the gear at the Seattle Seahawks' field, CenturyLink Field yesterday. Scientists with the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network installed the instruments to record expected vibrations from jumping and stomping fans

This weekend the group will be beefing up its social-media presence to post updates and respond to questions during the game. That also helps get ready for an emergency situation.

'During the rumblings on Mount St Helens a decade ago there was a huge influx of web visits and phone calls,' Dr Malone said.

'Now with social media, it's a whole new ballgame. We've got to learn how to deal with that because it's going to snow us over if we're not prepared.'

The group will have more staff monitoring social media during the game, and more robust websites that they hope won't slow down or crash during heavy traffic.

On the scientific side, they hope to explore the different readings between the three sensors placed at different levels.

They also hope to explain some mysterious patterns of shaking during commercial breaks, what one researcher says may be a 'dance quake.'

Several researchers will be at the UW campus lab Saturday monitoring the sensors. Two group members will be at the stadium providing eyes on the ground to help explain what could be causing any unusual spikes.

'We're developing these new web tools, and monitoring the game really motivates everyone to get excited,' Dr Vidale said, 'and we're rooting for a second helping of roars and rumbles against the Packers or Cowboys to perfect the system.'