This season, the Seattle Seahawks are sending shockwaves through the state – literally.
Scientists set up seismographs at Lumen Field during recent playoff games to measure how hard fans shake the stadium during big plays.
Harold Tobin, director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, said the crowds did not disappoint. For comparison, he said, during one of the games there was a simultaneous earthquake about 11 miles away that was measured at magnitude 2.6.
“And when we directly compare the shaking of that to the stadium shaking from the fans, there’s no comparison, actually,” said Tobin. “The earthquake is much, much smaller shaking. So the stadium shook harder than a local nearby magnitude 2.6 earthquake.”
PNSN says the experiments help give scientists practice using their equipment and analyzing the data, as fan enthusiasm is much more predictable than actual earthquakes. Tobin added that the experiments also help engage the public around their work as seismologists.
Tobin said the Seahawk experiments give examples that are fun, but of course, real earthquakes aren’t a game. He explained that while Lumen stadium is designed to withstand lots of shaking, many buildings in the region are not.
“We certainly need, all over Seattle and all over our entire region,” said Tobin, “to work on retrofitting, repairing, replacing those dangerous older buildings.”
Tobin said 25 years have passed since the Nisqually earthquake, the region’s last major quake. The magnitude 6.8 tremor struck 30 miles south of Olympia, causing about 400 injuries and an estimated $4 billion in damage.
He said the Seahawks experiments will hopefully get people thinking about earthquakes who might not otherwise.
“Maybe this is just a small reminder that there’s a seismic network out there that’s paying attention,” said Tobin. “And otherwise, go Hawks!”
by Isobele Charle, Public News Service
