By: David Yang
The Taylor Swift “Eras” tour concert in downtown Seattle on July 22 and July 23 shook the ground so hard that it triggered seismic activity. The 33-year-old singer and songwriter has many tours throughout the year. Her fans in Seattle might have been the most vibrant crowd of them all, causing the whole ground to tremble. It’s certainly the biggest concert we have seen in a while, with over 70,000 people and all the music equipment associated with the concert.
Seismologists said it was registered by a nearby seismometer, a device that uses acceleration to measure ground vibrations. Later, it is converted to the Richter scale, the common measurement for earthquakes. The seismometer reported that it was roughly equivalent to a magnitude 2.3 earthquake.
“The ‘Swift Quake’ recorded a maximum ground acceleration of 0.011 meters per second,” said Jackie Caplan-Auerbach, a seismologist at Western Washington University. The “Swift Quake” is drawing comparisons to the pro football “Beast Quake” in 2011.
“Beast Quake” was the seismic activity that was triggered by the crowd. It was January 8, 2011, and the 7-9 Seattle Seahawks were leading the 11-5 New Orleans Saints 34-30 with 3:40 left. Lynch was a 215-pound 24-year-old player. Lynch rushed 67 yards and broke nine tackles to score a touchdown. After the score, Seahawks’ Aaron Curry called it “The most unbelievable, unrealistic play I’ve ever seen in the history of football.” It was also one of the greatest runs their coach has ever seen. The run made the fans start screaming, yelling, jumping, and also caused an earthquake.
While the magnitude difference between “Beast Quake” and “Swift Quake” is only 0.3, Caplan-Auerbach explained that the shaking of Taylor’s concert was twice as strong as the 2011 football game. “It absolutely doubled it,” she said. The primary difference is the duration of the shaking. Cheering for a touchdown only lasts for a few seconds and eventually dies down. It is much more random than a live concert. All the rhythm, the music, and the beat bring out energy into the ground and cause it to shake.
Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour heads to Santa Clara in Northern California on Friday and continues to Los Angeles next month. She might bring in another earthquake.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/28/arts/music/taylor-swift-earthquake-seattle-.html
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/27/entertainment/taylor-swift-seismic-activity/index.html
https://www.today.com/popculture/music/taylor-swift-fans-seismic-concert-rcna97169