Find the word definition

Crossword clues for microseism

The Collaborative International Dictionary
Microseism

Microseism \Mi"cro*seism\, n. [Micro- + Gr. ? an earthquake, fr. ? to shake.] A feeble earth tremor not directly perceptible, but detected only by means of specially constructed apparatus. -- Mi`cro*seis"mic, Mi`cro*seis"mic*al, a.

Wiktionary
microseism

n. A faint earth tremor caused by natural phenomena, such as wind.

WordNet
microseism

n. a small earthquake [syn: tremor, earth tremor]

Wikipedia
Microseism

In seismology, a microseism is defined as a faint earth tremor caused by natural phenomena. Sometimes referred to as a "hum", it should not be confused with the anomalous acoustic phenomenon of the same name. The term is most commonly used to refer to the dominant background seismic and electromagnetic noise signals on Earth, which are caused by water waves in the oceans and lakes. Characteristics of microseism are discussed by Bhatt. Because the ocean wave oscillations are statistically homogenous over several hours, the microseism signal is a long-continuing oscillation of the ground. The most energetic seismic waves that make up the microseismic field are Rayleigh waves, but Love waves can make up a significant fraction of the wave field, and body waves are also easily detected with arrays. Because the conversion from the ocean waves to the seismic waves is very weak, the amplitude of ground motions associated to microseisms does not generally exceed 10 micrometers.

Usage examples of "microseism".

The longer the microseism program runs, the more we can refine the guess.

The microseisms, hundreds of tiny earthquake waves coming from the crust strains, could help predict the location and force of the major quake.