LOS ANGELES — It seems Seattle Swifties aren’t the only fans who know how to shake it off to seismic proportions.
A recent study from Caltech researchers found that Taylor Swift‘s Los Angeles fans also caused earthquake-like activity when the superstar took over Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium for six nights in August. Caltech seismologist Gabrielle Tepp oversaw the study, titled “Shake to the Beat: Exploring the Seismic Signals and Stadium Response of Concerts and Music Fans.”
Swift’s Aug. 5, 2023, show was at the center of the study, published Wednesday. The “Shake It Off” star played to an audience of approximately 70,000 fans, who sang and danced along to dozens of her hits. Signals from the show were registered on seismic network stations within 5.6 miles of the stadium, and on “strong-motion sensors placed near and inside the stadium,” the abstract says.
A release about the study said Tepp and fellow researchers were able to identify “the seismic signature” of each song performed at the hours-long concert. Caltech also found that the seismic activity was most likely a result of the “dancing and jumping motions” of Swift’s SoFi audience, not beats and reverberations emanating from the stadium’s sound system.
Caltech researchers also calculated each song’s “radiated energy” in terms of its equal earthquake magnitude. Swift’s upbeat “Shake It Off” resulted in the “largest local magnitude of 0.851,” the study said.
“Keep in mind this energy was released over a few minutes compared to a second for an earthquake of that size,” Tepp explained. “Based on the maximum strength of shaking, the strongest tremor was equivalent to a magnitude-2 earthquake.”
Swift’s Seattle fans reportedly danced, jumped and shook so much in July that a nearby seismometer equated their activity to a magnitude 2.3 earthquake.
the Seattle Times reported. This “Swift Quake” prompted the California Office of Emergency Services to gauge research interest among its seismic network operators for Swift’s SoFi shows. Responding to the call, Tepp and her colleagues installed motion sensors inside the Inglewood stadium before Swift’s arrival.
Since launching in March 2023, Swift’s ongoing Eras tour has generated more than just scientific studies. The Eras tour has reportedly boosted local economies, broken tour revenue records and earned Swift a spot in the billionaires club.
“This is the proudest and happiest I’ve ever felt, and the most creatively fulfilled and free I’ve ever been,” Swift said about her tour when she was named Time magazine’s 2023 Person of the Year in December.
