The Earth Is Humming—Here's What It Means
The ceaseless rumble is nothing new, but observing it from the ocean floor could help future research.
Our blue planet spins suspended in outer space—and it hums, too.
European researchers say the Earth's incessant hum originates from the bottom of the ocean. This study, published by researchers from the Paris Institute of Global Physics in the journal Geophysical Research Letters in November, gleans material from ocean-bottom seismometer stations, contrasting with previous data from vibration tools based on land.
"It's like taking a piano and slamming all the keys at the same time," says Spahr Webb of Columbia University's Earth Institute, who was not associated with the study. "Except they're not nice harmonics. They're oddball frequencies."
The planet's hum has tickled scientists' minds since 1959, but definitive research was not completed on the topic until 1998.
