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Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics pp 1–5Cite as

Earthquake Sounds

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Definition

Earthquake sounds . Atmospheric pressure waves associated with earthquakes, especially those audible to humans.

Introduction

“…previous to an earthquake, a roaring is usually heard,” wrote Lucius Annaeus Seneca, around 65 C.E., in the sixth volume of Naturales Quaestiones (translation by Clarke and Geike 1910). While Seneca’s explanations for earthquakes now seem fanciful, this statement remains accurate, and historical records of earthquake sounds have been joined over the last few decades by instrumental studies of this phenomenon.

A particularly interesting case of earthquake sounds concerns the long-reported noises near Moodus, Connecticut, whose town name is derived from a Wangunk word meaning “place of noises” (Brigham 1871). Reports of these noises predate the arrival of European settlers who described them as accompanying shaking “as though in an earthquake” (Davis 1897). Seismographic studies of the earthquakes that accompany the Moodus Noises demonstrate that...

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Acknowledgments

This article greatly benefited from reviews by Madison Goldberg, Jeanne Hardebeck, David Hill, Carol Mark, Stephanie Ross, and Matthieu Sylvander.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. USGS, Moffett Field, CA, USA

    Andrew J. Michael

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  1. Andrew J. Michael
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Correspondence to Andrew J. Michael .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Seismology, National Geophysical Research Insti, Hyderabad, India

    Harsh K. Gupta

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Michael, A.J. (2019). Earthquake Sounds. In: Gupta, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10475-7_201-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10475-7_201-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-10475-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-10475-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

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