Reduction in human-induced seismic noise during the pandemic lockdown

Change between December 2019 and May 2020 of the amplitude of vibrations (ground movement caused by human activity) detected by seismic sensors in different cities. Each line shows the variations in amplitude in each city. Each pixel represents one day. White dots correspond to the start of lockdown in each given city. In blue are low vibration amplitudes, observed more frequently after lockdown began, but also during this year's New Year celebrations and on the weekends. Thomas Lecocq et al. A team of 76 seismologists, including several French scientists from the CNRS, the Paris Institute of Earth Physics (IPGP), Université de Paris, Université de Strasbourg and the French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD) 1 discovered that the lockdown measures used in the fight against the spread of COVID-19 have led to a 50% reduction in seismic noise due to human activity across the globe between January-June 2020.