News Earth

‘Thunderquakes’ do more than shake the ground — they map it

Ground vibrations from thunder could offer a cheaper way to map what lies beneath cities

A photo of a big bolt of lightning. Acoustic waves from thunder can become seismic signals called thunderquakes.

“Thunderquakes” are acoustic pressure waves that can penetrate the ground as seismic signals detectable by fiber optic cables. Those seismic signals can be used to map the subsurface down to 100 meters.

Rinat Mouratov/500px/Getty Images

By Carolyn Gramling

“Thunderquakes” ho! Using intense sound waves generated by thunder, scientists created maps of the shallow geology beneath a large U.S.