The detection of energy signals from strong winter storms in the North Atlantic Ocean that travel through Earth’s core could enhance understanding of our solar system, according to new research from The Australian National University (ANU).
The detection of energy signals from strong winter storms in the North Atlantic Ocean that travel through Earth’s core could enhance understanding of our solar system, according to new research from The Australian National University (ANU).
The study is published in the journal Seismological Research Letters.
The ANU seismologists used two 50-by-50-kilometer spiral arrays in Australia to detect PKP waves, which are core waves generated by cyclones in the North Atlantic that move through Earth’s center to Australia during the Australian summer.
The study identified two key regions in Greenland and Newfoundland as sources of these seismic signals generated by ocean waves.
Study co-author and ANU Ph.D. student Abhay Pandey said the method of detecting and studying these energetic signals, using technology that was carefully designed and installed in remote Australia, is crucial for detecting core waves and could prove useful in studying other planets.
« This method, particularly in the context of exploring other planets and icy moons, can be used to identify planets with a core, including those that don’t have plate tectonics or volcanoes, as well as planets that don’t experience quakes, providing valuable data for future exploration », he said.
