Did Mexicans celebrating World Cup win cause an earthquake? Unfounded
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on June 20, 2018 at 11:34
- Updated on June 20, 2018 at 11:34
- 2 min read
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The story of the "earthquake" caused by jubilant Mexican fans was picked up by media outlets around the world.
It originated with a tweet from an institution calling itself SIMMSA -- the Department of Seismology and Volcanology of the Institute for Geological and Atmospheric Research.
"The earthquake detected in Mexico city was artificial in origin. Possibly caused by mass jumping during Mexico's World Cup goal. At least two sensors in Mexico City detected it at 11:32," read the tweet.
The public institution that monitors seismic activity in Mexico, the National Seismological Service (SSN), did not announce any earthquake in Mexico City on Sunday.
Xyoli Ramirez Campos of the Geophysics Institute at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, a member of the SSN, said that although movements by large groups of people can create vibrations that are picked up by seismographs, they would not resemble the spike caused by an earthquake.
A similar phenomenon occurs during FC Barcelona matches, said Spanish geologist Javier Carmona of the Complutense University in Madrid.
Ramirez Campos said she was unaware of SIMMSA's existence until its tweet went viral. "It's not a site that's known within the seismological community," she said.
WHAT CONCLUSION CAN BE DRAWN?
The mass movements of large crowds of people can be detected by seismographs, but they do not trigger earthquakes. There is no evidence an earthquake took place in Mexico City on Sunday.
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