Tens of thousands of Taylor Swift's fans reportedly caused an earthquake during her performance in Boston last week, jumping together and detecting magnitude 2.3 seismic activity. The reports made us wonder if there were other human actions capable of causing earthquakes. This is the alarming list we received from Perplexity:
While most earthquakes are caused by natural phenomena, some human actions can also trigger earthquakes.
Induced earthquakes
Before we get into specific factors, we note that there is a specific scientific term to describe seismic activity and earthquakes caused by human activity – "induced seismic activity" and "induced earthquakes. The very existence of the phrase indicates that this is not a new or marginal phenomenon.
Heavy pooling of water in dams
Disruption of crust balance due to the storage of a huge amount of water by dams can cause earthquakes, because the weight of the water can cause the soil to shift.
mining
Upper or underground mining of all kinds can cause earthquakes. Removing large amounts of rock and soil can cause the rebalancing soil to shift and lead to an earthquake.
Pumping liquids and gas
Pumping fluids and gas from the Earth's crust can cause earthquakes, because it also creates voids in the soil that tend to be filled by movements of the soil around them.
Nuclear explosions
Nuclear explosions, especially underground test explosions, can send certain types of shock waves through the Earth, causing damage and leading to earthquakes.
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us