- The roar of Anfield triggers seismic tremor
- Data reveals it was just shy of being a minor earthquake
- Details of study shared by University of Liverpool
Liverpool fans literally shook the Earth to its core when Alex Mac Allister’s title-clinching strike rippled the back of the goal net last weekend.
The club’s historic win over Tottenham Hotspur put them back on their perch, as they secured their 20th league title, drawing level with arch-rivals Manchester United.
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Spurs scored first Sunday’s game at Anfield, but Liverpool equalised through Mac Allister in the 24th minute, eventually thrashing the London side 5-1.
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More than 60,000 fans packed into Liverpool’s stadium for the game and according to scientists “Their enthusiasm was literally powerful enough to move the Earth.”
The sheer passion of Liverpool fans
Earth scientists at the University of Liverpool were at Anfield to measure ground movement during the game. They were on site with state-of-the-art seismic equipment that is used to detect earthquakes.
Their data collection revealed that when Liverpool levelled the score to 1-1, the eruption from the home fans triggered a tremor. It registered a peak magnitude of 1.74 on the Richter scale – just short of the 2.0 needed to be classed as a minor earthquake.
The study was done by Dr Antoine Septier, Dr Farnaz Kamranzad, and Professor Ben Edwards from the University’s Department of Earth, Ocean and Environmental Sciences department in partnership with the club.
“Much like natural seismic events, these goals produced bursts of ground-shaking, triggered by the sheer passion of Liverpool fans,” Edwards said.
“a seismic fingerprint of collective joy”
The second-largest tremor, measuring 1.60, came after Mohamed Salah’s goal in front of the Kop in the second half, which made it 3-1 and seemingly put any doubt about the title to bed.
Cody Gakpo’s goal registered 1.03, Destiny Udogie’s own goal measured 1.35, and Luis Díaz’s disallowed equaliser came in at 0.64.
“Who knew that football fans could generate seismic energy? This experiment shows us that science is everywhere, even hidden beneath the roar of a goal at Anfield!” said Kamranzad.
The scientist noted that while fans wouldn’t have felt the tremor in the stands they were powerful enough “to leave a clear and lasting mark at Anfield”.
“Every cheer, every celebration, leaves a trace beneath our feet, a seismic fingerprint of collective joy, written into the Earth’s memory long after the final whistle,” she said.
Septier said he hoped the experiment would inspire other seismologists to look at new ways of measuring human activity through seismic data.
“I hope that showing this data will spark innovative ideas for potential applications, perhaps even to enhance the stadium experience,” he said.
Liverpool’s 20th league title puts them level with Manchester United domestically, but in Europe, the Reds remain dominant with five European Cups to United’s three.