The Nepal earthquake was so strong that it disturbed the Earth’s ionosphere which started singing

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The ionosphere is very sensitive to solar storms. And it turns out it is also sensitive to extreme earthquakes.

According to NASA, the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Nepal on April 25, 2015 was so powerful that it created waves of energy that penetrated the ionosphere, disturbed the distribution of electrons and made it sing.

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Ionospheric electron density plot, by NASA

The wave patterns, circled, above, are waves of electron density rippling from a point in the ionosphere above the epicenter of the quake. They were measured by a science-quality GPS receiver in Lhasa, Tibet.

The dynamic spectrum, below, shows that the ionosphere was ringing in periods of ~2 and ~8 minutes. These tones have been most probably created by atmospheric pressure waves billowing up from the trembling Earth below.

Read the full Ionosphere Natural Hazards Team‘s article.

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3 Comments

  1. […] You’ve seen the pictures of the destruction caused by the catastrophic earthquake that hit Nepal on April 25, 2015. You’ve read articles about how the magnitude 7.8 quake shook the area so hard that the height of Mt. Everest dropped an inch as the Indian tectonic plate pushed against the Eurasian plate under Kathmandu, causing tremors that could be felt 700 miles away. Now NASA has revealed that this powerful force was felt in the atmosphere above Nepal as well as it sent waves of energy through the air and disturbed the Earth’s ionosphere to the point where its electrons were ringing. […]

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