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Did Taylor Swift's Concerts Really Trigger Earthquake Tremors? Here's What Research Reveals
Did Taylor Swift's concerts cause earthquakes? Research uncovers seismic activity triggered by fan uproar, with 'Shake It Off' leading the tremor charts. Find out more!
Taylor Swift can quite literally 'Shake It Off' during her concert performances. The singers' concerts are massively crowded, which leads to an uproar that could trigger earthquakes. Researchers have revealed the logistics behind the earthquakes and which song created the most extensive quiver.
The Department of Seismology at Caltech conducted research on the mild tremors caused during Swift's Eras Tour concert. The research team, led by Gabrielle Tepp, published a paper in Seismological Research Letters that discussed the "SwiftQuakes" in detail.
Researchers lay out facts behind the SwiftQuakes
The team placed earthquake motion sensors at the SoFi stadium upon the request of the California Office of Emergency Services. The study is based on the data collected from the concert in L.A. on August 5, 2023.
The report suggested that the strongest seismic activity was captured during the performance of Shake It Off. The wave created during the performance was 0.851 in magnitude, caused by the dancing and jumping motions of 70,000 fans in the stadium.
Apparently, the fans caused a microearthquake, which was reported 50 times during the concert. In addition to Shake It Off, her songs You Belong With Me, Cruel Summer, Love Story, and 22 caused large seismic activity.
The Swifties are louder than Metal fans
A similar experiment was conducted when Metalica performed at SoFi, but the results were less staggering than those from the Eras Tour concert. The research head, Tepp, said that the harmonic waves from the Metalica concert looked very different from Swift's.
"Metal fans like to headband a lot, so they're not necessarily bouncing. It might just be that the ways in which they move don't create as strong of a signal," Tepp said.
She also believed Swift's elaborate choreographies during the concerts might contribute to the triggers, compared to Metalica, which does not have any choreography.
When Taylor Swift shook Seatle
This isn’t the first time that the Style singer has shaken a stadium. Before the “SwiftQuake” hit L.A. recently, the Eras Tour concert at Seatle caused a tremor of a record-breaking 2.3 magnitude.
“Going to Taylor’s concert in Seattle was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced,” said CNN’s Chloe Melad, an attendee. “You could literally feel the ground shaking beneath your feet. My ears are still ringing,” she said.
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