疫情封锁使地球更安静

The lockdown has made the earth quieter

刘立军 供稿

TRANSCRIPT

This is Scientific American's 60-second Science, I'm Christopher Intagliata.

Humans are a really noisy species: hammering and digging, flying and driving, delivering heavy cargo all over the world. And all that activity creates seismic noise, which masks delicate signals from faraway small earthquakes.

Raphael De Plaen, a seismologist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, compares listening for small earthquakes during normal times to sitting at a wedding, at a table far away from the band. You can't really make out the music, because there are so many people laughing and talking in between you and the loudspeakers.

"And so now the lockdown is like coming during the rehearsal - no one is talking. So even though you're far away, the speakers are loud enough for you to listen to all the songs and clearly identify them."

During the global lockdown, De Plaen says he and his colleagues have been able to detect "songs" - in this case, seismic signals - they didn't even know existed. And now that they've identified those signals, they'll be able to look back at decades of data and use these newly discovered seismic fingerprints to better identify small earthquakes like this in the past.

The study, co-authored by more than 70 seismologists from around the world, appears in the journal Science.

In addition to unmasking new seismic phenomena, the study also demonstrates how seismic data could be used to track human activity and movement - like traffic patterns in a certain region, for example - and all without the privacy concerns that go along with cell-phone tracking.

"By definition, what we are observing is already anonymous - there's no way to actually know if John Doe has left his home to spend the night in another place."

De Plaen points out that this finding may be one of the only positive things to come out of the global pandemic: the ability to better detect future earthquakes.

Thanks for listening for Scientific American's 60-second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata.

VOCABULARY

1. seismic adj. connected with or caused by earthquakes 地震的；地震引起的。例如：seismic waves 地震波

2. seismologist n. 地震学家，地震专家

3. anonymous adj. written, given, made, etc. by sb. who does not want their name to be known or made public 匿名的；不具名的。例如：an anonymous letter匿名信

QUESTIONS

Read the statements. Then listen to the news and decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F).

1. Humans are a really noisy species.

2. Raphael De Plaen is a seismologist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

3. The study, co-authored by more than 70 seismologists from EU, appears in the journal Science.

4. The study demonstrates how seismic data could be used to track animal activity and movement without the privacy concerns.

5. De Plaen points out that this finding may be the only positive things to come out of the global pandemic.

KEY

Read the statements. Then listen to the news and decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F).

(T) 1. Humans are a really noisy species.

(T) 2. Raphael De Plaen is a seismologist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

(F) 3. The study, co-authored by more than 70 seismologists from EU, appears in the journal Science. （正确表达）The study, co-authored by more than 70 seismologists from around the world, appears in the journal Science.

(F) 4. The study demonstrates how seismic data could be used to track animal activity and movement without the privacy concerns.（正确表达）The study demonstrates how seismic data could be used to track human activity and movement without the privacy concerns.

(F) 5. De Plaen points out that this finding may be the only positive things to come out of the global pandemic. （正确表达） De Plaen points out that this finding may be one of the only positive things to come out of the global pandemic.

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