The effect of confinement due to COVID-19 on seismic noise in Mexico
<p>The world experienced the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic by the end of 2019 to the beginning of 2020. Governments implemented strategies to contain it, most based on lockdowns. Mexico was no exception. The lockdown was initiated in March 2020, and with it, a reduction in the seismic noi...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Solid Earth |
| Online Access: | https://se.copernicus.org/articles/12/1411/2021/se-12-1411-2021.pdf |
| Summary: | <p>The world experienced the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic by
the end of 2019 to the beginning of 2020. Governments implemented strategies to
contain it, most based on lockdowns. Mexico was no exception. The
lockdown was initiated in March 2020, and with it, a reduction in the seismic
noise level was witnessed by the seismic stations of the national and
Valley of Mexico networks. Stations located in municipalities with more than
50 000 people usually experience larger seismic noise levels at frequencies
between 1 and 5 Hz, associated with human activity. The largest noise levels
are recorded in Mexico City, which has the largest population in the country. The
largest drop was observed in Hermosillo, Sonora; however, it was also the
city with the fastest return to activities, which seems to correlate with a
quick increase in confirmed COVID-19 cases. Mexico initiated a traffic-light
system to modulate the re-opening of economic activities for each state.
Therefore, since 1 June, noise levels have generally reflected the colour of the
state traffic light. Furthermore, the reduction in the noise level at
seismic stations has allowed identification of smaller earthquakes without
signal processing. Also, people in cities have perceived smaller or more distant
quakes.</p> |
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| ISSN: | 1869-9510 1869-9529 |