--- title: "Taylor Swift “Eras” Tour Registers as Magnitude 2.3 Earthquake, Scientists Say" description: "According to a seismologist, Taylor Swift's Seattle Eras Tour stop caused, on both nights, 2.3 magnitude earthquakes." date: "2023-07-30" modified: "2023-07-30" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/taylor-swift-eras-tour-earthquake" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "concerts" - "earthquakes" - "taylor swift" - "the digest" --- # Taylor Swift “Eras” Tour Registers as Magnitude 2.3 Earthquake, Scientists Say ![According to a seismologist, Taylor Swift's Seattle Eras Tour stop caused, on both nights, 2.3 magnitude earthquakes.]() *SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - JULY 22: EDITORIAL USE ONLY Taylor Swift performs onstage during the Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour at Lumen Field on July 22, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Mat Hayward/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management) \Image: Mat Hayward via Getty Images\* ## Quake It Off Taylor Swift's Eras Tour has [broken attendance records](), launched the beginnings of a coup against the [widely-despised Ticketmaster](), and — among other accomplishments — caused several US lawmakers to utter her lyrics in [bad legislative puns]() that now have an eternal home on the congressional record. Now, [per *CNN*](), Swift can add another feather to her [Red-era bowling hat](): causing rumblings equivalent to an actual earthquake. According to *CNN*, Swift's weekend stop at Seattle's Lumen Field stadium registered seismic activity equal to that of an hours-long 2.3 magnitude earthquake. [Shake, shake, shake]() indeed. "I grabbed the data from both nights of the concert and quickly noticed they were clearly the same pattern of signals," Jackie Caplan-Auerbach, a seismologist and geology professor at Western Washington University, who first caught wind of the seismic shift in a Pacific Northwest earthquake group that she moderates on Facebook, told *CNN*. "If I overlay them on top of each other, they're nearly identical." ## Hits Different Per *CNN*, the "Swift Quake" has invited comparisons to Seattle's 2.0 magnitude "Beast Quake" of 2011, when a touchdown from former Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn "Beast Mode" Lynch caused earthquake-level cheering and applause. That said, while any crowd-caused seismic shaking is impressive, the Beast Quake, like other [sporting event-caused quakes](), was fairly shortlived; the Swift Quake, on the other hand, apparently went on for about *ten hours.* "The primary difference is the duration of shaking," Caplan-Auerbach told *CNN.* "Cheering after a touchdown lasts for a couple seconds, but eventually it dies down. It's much more random than a concert. For Taylor Swift, I collected about 10 hours of data where rhythm controlled the behavior. The music, the speakers, the beat. All that energy can drive into the ground and shake it." "What I love is to be able to share that this is science," she added. "It doesn't have to happen in a lab with a white coat. Everyday observations and experiences are science." Speaking [to *The Seattle Times*](), Caplan-Auerbach said she's now looking forward to studying any seismic shaking caused by Beyoncé Knowles' upcoming September show at Lumen Stadium. "Science can happen in two ways," she said. "Sometimes you're handed data by surprise, like this one... but other times you can say, 'Hey, we know this is going to happen, what data do we want?'" **More on Taylor Swift:** [*They Tried to Pay Taylor Swift to Shill FTX, but She Shook Them Off*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()