So Quite, You Can Hear a Snowflake Drop
Looking for
the quietest place on Earth? It's at the South Pole - at least from a seismographical
perspective. Researchers have operated seismic instruments there since 1957, but,
as with urban sprawl in warmer climes, the noise level has grown worse with the
population of that area because of new researchers moving in. No worries (a little
Dundee lingo there), new locations have been established in 300 meter deep bore
holes about 8 km from the old site. Sensitivity is 100 times that of the previous
detectors, and 4 times that of anywhere else on Earth. So, when the San Andres Fault
finally starts letting go, they'll be the first to know about it. |