When Liverpool fans celebrated their historic title-clinching win over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield, little did they know that they were causing a series of tremors, as revealed by university scientists. Arne Slot’s side secured the club’s 20th top-flight championship by defeating Tottenham 5-1 in front of a packed Anfield stadium on April 27th. The seismic activity generated by the 60,415-strong crowd after each goal was captured and analyzed by earth scientists from the University of Liverpool, using equipment typically used to detect earthquakes.
The most significant tremor occurred after Alexis Mac Allister’s goal in the 24th minute, which put Liverpool 2-1 ahead and registered a peak magnitude of 1.74 on the Richter scale. Callum Harrison, a seismologist at the British Geological Survey, highlighted that the shaking experienced by fans was measured on “very sensitive equipment”, clarifying that such seismic signals have been observed at various concerts and sports events. The study, conducted by Dr. Antoine Septier, Dr. Farnaz Kamranzad, and Professor Ben Edwards from the University’s Department of Earth, Ocean, and Environmental Sciences in collaboration with the club, aimed to capture the ground-shaking bursts triggered by the passionate Liverpool fans.
The data unveiled that the energetic response of the 60,415-strong crowd during the game generated actual seismic activity, particularly linked to the goals scored. Following Mo Salah’s goal in the second half, the second-largest tremor measured at 1.60. Other goals, such as Cody Gakpo’s effort, Destiny Udogie’s own goal, and Luis Diaz’s initially disallowed equalizer, also caused varying degrees of tremors. Dr. Farnaz Kamranzad emphasized that while these tremors were not strong enough to be felt in the stands, they left a lasting mark at Anfield, recording a seismic fingerprint of collective joy.
Dr. Antoine Septier expressed hope that the data captured during this experiment would spur innovative ideas for potential applications, possibly even enhancing the stadium experience. The sheer passion exhibited by Liverpool fans during the game was indeed powerful enough to move the Earth, as noted by Professor Ben Edwards. The seismic events measured during the match on April 27th represent a unique intersection of sports, science, and collective emotion that resonated far beyond the final whistle
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