Someplace deep below our feet, the Earth seems to be pulsing quietly and rhythmically every 26 seconds. This faint tremor, too diffused for humans to experience, has baffled scientists for many years.
Detected with the aid of seismometers across continents, the mysterious "heartbeat" has no confirmed rationalization, but it continues to thump—unchanged, unexplained.
First observed in the early nineteen sixties by geophysicist Jack Oliver, the phenomenon—called a "microseism"—was" traced to somewhere within the equatorial Atlantic Ocean and changed into something stronger for the duration of positive seasons. But without modern-day tools, Oliver's work remained largely theoretical, the Find Out mag pronounced.
It wasn't until 2005, when researchers at the university of Colorado Boulder stumbled upon the same sign using wallet PLATFORM' target='_blank' title='digital-Latest Updates, Photos, Videos are a click away, CLICK NOW'>digital seismic information, that the thriller lowered back to the scientific spotlight. "We noticed something ordinary, constant, and continual," says seismologist Mike Ritzwoller, recalling the moment his group rediscovered the heartbeat. They traced it to the gulf of Guinea, off the coast of West Africa.
However, what is the reason for it?
One concept shows it is the result of powerful ocean waves placing the continental shelf—just like the vibration you feel across a table while someone taps it on one end. Another concept, proposed by Chinese scientists in 2013, factors in volcanic activity close to Sao Tome Island inside the Bight of Bonny—suspiciously close to the heartbeat's beginning.
Regardless of decades of examination and a couple of groups inspecting the phenomenon from unique angles, there is no consensus. "We're nonetheless expecting the fundamental explanation," Ritzwoller admits. Some scientists have even stopped prioritizing it, calling it an "intriguing, however low-effect," riddle in comparison to large seismic research questions.
Nevertheless, the truth stays: every 26 seconds, Earth ticks like a metronome—its supply, cause, and patience a thriller hidden underneath ocean waves and volcanic rock.
And possibly the most haunting part? It hasn't stopped..jpg)
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