North Atlantic Storm Leads Scientists To A New Discovery

A rare, deep-Earth tremor was detected by scientists who study earthquakes in Japan. They track the location and it led them to a distant powerful storm. Results of their findings could guide them to know more about Earth's inner structure and upgrade the detection of an earthquake and oceanic storms.

A severe and distant North Atlantic storm, tagged as the "weather bomb," triggered the scientists' new discovery. Researchers Kiwamu Nishida and Ryota Takagi, together with more than 200 stations handled by the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Prevention in Japan's Chugoku district, were able to detect the new waves namely S-Waves and P-Waves.

In line with their research, S-Waves and P-Waves are both microseisms, the difference is that the S-waves or secondary waves are slower and moves only through rocks, while the P waves are fast-moving and it can be sensed by animals even before the earthquake hits. This finding was published in the journal "US Journal Science." Researchers detail how they traced the direction and distance to the waves' origins and the paths they traveled.

Peter Gerstoft and Peter Bromirski of the University of California, San Diego in an accompanying Perspective article reported by Phys. Org said, "The discovery gives seismologists a new tool with which to study Earth's deeper structure." Researchers added that further studies about S waves can expand their perceptive regarding Earth's upper mantle and deeper crust structure, according to Yahoo.com.