In downtown Seattle at Lumen Field, Taylor Swift and her enthusiastic fans spent two nights dancing and singing at Swift’s “Eras” tour concert. According to Jackie Caplain-Auerbach, a seismologist, the music and dancing caused a seismic activity equivalent to a 2.3 magnitude earthquake,
Fans labeled the event as the “Swift Quake.”
Mouse Reusch is another seismologist at the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, which monitors earthquake activity in the Pacific Northwest.
“It’s certainly the biggest concert we’ve had in a while,” Reusch said. “We’re talking about 70,000 people and all the music and paraphernalia associated with the concert.”
This “Swift Quake” has some seismologists comparing it to the pro football “Beast Quake” of 2011. The “Beast Quake” occurred when Seattle Seahawks fans roared in celebration following a last-minute touchdown by Marshawn Lynch.
Caplain-Auerbach stated that the shaking of the ground was more than “twice as hard” as that of the 2011 Seahawks game, most likely because of the combination of the music from the concert’s sound system and Taylor Swift’s fans (known as the Swifties) dancing in sync.
While the concerts shook the ground exceptionally hard, seismometers will pick up signals from “anything that shakes the ground,” including cars, trains, and even wind, Caplain-Auerbach noted.
Similarly to Swift’s concert, the seismometer recorded signals when The Weeknd played at Lumen Field on August 25, 2022, though they were not as strong.
Beyoncé will be playing at Lumen Field on Sept. 14.
Caplain-Auerbach said, “I’ll be looking at that for sure.”
Reusch finds inspiration in the public’s attention and hopes that maybe one day, young Swifties may become seismologists or earth scientists.
Fans labeled the event as the “Swift Quake.”
Mouse Reusch is another seismologist at the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, which monitors earthquake activity in the Pacific Northwest.
“It’s certainly the biggest concert we’ve had in a while,” Reusch said. “We’re talking about 70,000 people and all the music and paraphernalia associated with the concert.”
This “Swift Quake” has some seismologists comparing it to the pro football “Beast Quake” of 2011. The “Beast Quake” occurred when Seattle Seahawks fans roared in celebration following a last-minute touchdown by Marshawn Lynch.
Caplain-Auerbach stated that the shaking of the ground was more than “twice as hard” as that of the 2011 Seahawks game, most likely because of the combination of the music from the concert’s sound system and Taylor Swift’s fans (known as the Swifties) dancing in sync.
While the concerts shook the ground exceptionally hard, seismometers will pick up signals from “anything that shakes the ground,” including cars, trains, and even wind, Caplain-Auerbach noted.
Similarly to Swift’s concert, the seismometer recorded signals when The Weeknd played at Lumen Field on August 25, 2022, though they were not as strong.
Beyoncé will be playing at Lumen Field on Sept. 14.
Caplain-Auerbach said, “I’ll be looking at that for sure.”
Reusch finds inspiration in the public’s attention and hopes that maybe one day, young Swifties may become seismologists or earth scientists.
