Negative-magnitude microquakes generate audible surface pops
Evidence
By 1979, the Moodus mystery was a least partially resolved by a network of very sensitive seismometers set up by Boston College’s Weston Observatory, capturing tiny ground movements associated with the booms, often more than a hundred times too small for people to feel. Microquakes measuring as low as –2 on the Richter scale (a logarithmic scale very similar to decibels, measuring quake energy rather than sound energy) generated audible pops at Moodus. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 691
Categorization
Category: Factual Claims
- XREF: Richter’s log scale mirrors the decibel scale’s log behavior from earlier chapters on loudness.
- CANDY: The fact that a magnitude −2 event (over 10^16 times weaker than the Sendai quake) makes an audible pop is a great elevator fact.
Related
- Micro-earthquakes far too small to feel can produce loud audible booms (similarity 0.86)
- Suddenness of displacement, not speed, determines whether a boom is audible (similarity 0.80)
- Widespread sonic booms need not originate from supersonic sources (similarity 0.80)