Large storm systems can be tracked with seismometers

Science : Hurricane Sandy, which struck the US East Coast in 2012, produced such large, pounding ocean waves that they triggered ground motions detectable by seismological equipment across the entire continental US, reported Oner Sufri of the University of Utah and colleagues at this week’s annual meeting of the Seismological Society of America in Salt Lake City. Because such storm-induced vibrations are at lower frequencies than those produced by earthquakes, they are easily identifiable. Scientists have recently begun to comb through old seismic data sets to study storm systems that occurred before weather satellites were launched. Such information may give insight into how climate change is affecting Earth’s oceans. In addition, it can also be used to map large structures within Earth’s crust, much like x-ray computed tomography scans of the human body.