--- title: "The Earth is Standing Still During the Pandemic. Literally." description: "According to seismologists, this drastic reduction in the hustle and bustle of people living their lives is causing the Earth to literally move less." date: "2020-04-03" modified: "2020-04-03" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/earth-standing-still-pandemic" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "seismic monitoring" - "seismology" - "the digest" --- # The Earth is Standing Still During the Pandemic. Literally. ![According to seismologists, this drastic reduction in the hustle and bustle of people living their lives is causing the Earth to literally move less.]() *\Image: NASA/Victor Tangermann\* ## Standing Still Flights are grounded. Fewer trains are running. Rush hour is gone. The world — particularly in cities — is looking drastically different during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. According to seismologists, that drastic reduction in human hustle and bustle is causing the Earth to move substantially less. Both literally and figuratively, the planet is standing still. ## Less Noise Thomas Lecocq, a geologist and seismologist at the Royal Observatory in Belgium, noticed that the country's capital Brussels is experiencing **a** 30 to 50 percent reduction in ambient seismic noise since the lockdowns began, as [*CNN* reports](). That means data collected by seismologists is becoming more accurate, capable of detecting even the smallest tremors — despite the fact that many of the scientific instruments in use today are near city centers. "You’ll get a signal with less noise on top, allowing you to squeeze a little more information out of those events," Andy Frassetto, a seismologist at the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology in Washington DC [told *Nature*](). ## Second Opinion Researchers in [Los Angeles]() and in [West London](), UK noticed a similar trend. But seismologists collecting data from remote stations far away from human civilization might not see a change at all, according to *Nature*. Regardless, a significant drop in seismic noise also shows that we're at least doing one thing right during the current pandemic: staying in the safety of our own homes as we wait for the virus to run its course. **READ MORE:** [The coronavirus pandemic is making Earth shake less]() \[*CNN*\] **More on the pandemic:** *[New App Attempts to Detect Signs of COVID-19 Using Voice Analysis]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()