Can Weather Bombs Illuminate Earth's Hidden Interior?

Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the potential of using seismic waves generated by "weather bombs" to enhance the study of Earth's interior. Participants explore the implications of this method for seismic tomography and the understanding of geological processes.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants highlight that seismic tomography, akin to an x-ray, relies on earthquakes but is limited by their clustering on plate boundaries, leaving parts of the Earth's interior poorly illuminated.
  • Others note the detection of seismic waves from weather bombs by a seismic array in Japan, suggesting these waves could illuminate previously hidden areas of the Earth's interior.
  • One participant expresses curiosity about the number of seismic stations involved in the project, confirming there are 202 stations and expressing interest in the data refinement process.
  • A participant with a background in oil, gas, and mineral leasing raises the question of whether severe ocean storms could trigger earthquakes and if there is any statistical correlation between the two phenomena.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the potential of weather bombs to contribute to seismic studies, but there are unresolved questions regarding the relationship between ocean storms and earthquake activity.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations regarding the assumptions about the relationship between weather events and seismic activity, and the discussion does not resolve the statistical correlation question posed by participants.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to researchers in seismology, geology, and environmental science, as well as those involved in resource exploration and management.

1oldman2
Messages
1,456
Reaction score
1,209
This could open a new frontier on seismic study of the Earth's interior.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37177575

From, http://science.sciencemag.org/content/353/6302/919
Seismic tomography is like an x-ray of Earth's interior, except that it uses
earthquakes for the illumination. Earthquakes are imperfect illuminators
because they are clustered on plate boundaries, leaving much of the interior
in the shadows. Using a seismic array in Japan, Nishida and Takagi detected
seismic waves that they attribute to a severe and distant North Atlantic
storm called a "weather bomb" (see the Perspective by Gerstoft and Bromirski).
The seismic energy traveling from weather bombs through the Earth appears to be
capable of illuminating the many dark patches of Earth's interior.
 
Earth sciences news on Phys.org
Two hundred stations?
 
Bystander said:
Two hundred stations?
Yup, 202 stations, Impressive project all in all. I'm curious to see how well the researchers can fine tune the data and add to our understanding of the Earths interior.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Dotini
1oldman2 said:
I'm curious to see how well the researchers can fine tune the data and add to our understanding of the Earths interior.
I'm all for adding to our understanding of Earth's interior. Oil, gas and mineral leasing has been a part of our family business for nearly a century of boom and bust. But perhaps equally interesting is the idea that severe ocean storms in one part of the world can cause microseisms to be felt in another part. My question is, could severe ocean storms trigger earthquakes, and is there any sort of statistical correlation?
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: 1oldman2