PexelsScientists have recorded a mysterious hum coming from deep inside the Earth and it had better bloody not be those worms from Tremors.
I Watched that when I was about five-years-old – I’m scared of deserts and Kevin Bacon now.
It’s been widely accepted for years our planet produces a low frequency vibrational signal but it was only confirmed in 1998 after scientists started trying to detect the sound in 1959.
Hundreds of attempts have been made to record the sound since then using land based seismometers and now scientists have taken to the bottom of the sea to record the sound, The Mirror reports.
Why would you want to go under the sea to hear what noise the Earth’s making? I hear you ask. Well, they’re doing it to get a better idea to map the interior of our planet. It doesn’t exactly sound like something you’d do for a laugh.
Or in science speak:
The Earth’s hum is the permanent free oscillations of the Earth recorded in the absence of earthquakes, at periods above 30 [seconds]. We present the first observations of its fundamental spheroidal eigenmodes on broadband ocean bottom seismometers (OBSs) in the Indian Ocean.
Public DomainThe researchers first collected data from 57 seismometer stations located at the base of the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, between 2012 and 2013.
They used a combination of methods to remove interference, infragravity waves – nope, even after Googling that I don’t quite get it, I got a B at GCSE Science over 10 years ago, not gonna try to blag that – currents and electronic glitches and made corrections for any activity generated by earthquakes.
After all that they discovered the Earth’s natural vibration peaks at several frequencies between 2.9 and 4.5 millihertz. Reckon you hear that?
You’re lying, the human ear can only detect vibrations upwards of 20 hertz. The Earth’s hum is about 10,000 times smaller. You might want to see a doctor.
As these vibrations have been discovered at the bottom of the sea, and the Earth is 70% covered in water, it’s believed the hum is present across the world.
Martha Deen, leader of the research team from the Paris Institute of Earth Physics, hopes the new data will provide clues as to the source of the hum – their study so far can only explain part of the vibration.
Safely for once, I say with certainty: it’s not me.
Tim Horner is a sub-editor at UNILAD. He graduated with a BA Journalism from University College Falmouth before most his colleagues were born. A previous editor of adult mags, he now enjoys bringing the tone down in the viral news sector.