Penn State scientists use thunder to image underground hazards
Scientists at Penn State have figured out how to use thunder to peek underground and spot hidden dangers.
By tracking more than 450 "thunderquakes" through regular fiber-optic cables buried on campus, they mapped weak spots in the ground (like areas where sinkholes might form) over two and a half years.
Their findings just dropped in Science Advances.
Method images subsurface to 100 meters
The team used a technique that turns tiny ground shakes from thunder into clear images of what's below, reaching depths of up to 100 meters.
Since the method could be useful in cities with extensive buried fibre-optic networks, this method could help spot geological risks early and prevent disasters.
As lead researcher Tieyuan Zhu put it, it could be a game-changer for keeping communities safer, without breaking the bank.