{
  "id": 12424197,
  "title": "Shooting light pulses down a 3-kilometer borehole could illuminate seismic hazards",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/shooting-light-pulses-down-a-3-kilometer-borehole-could-illuminate-12424197",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-06T17:00:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-10-pulses-kilometer-borehole-illuminate-seismic.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Researchers have installed a fiber-optic cable 3 kilometers deep in a geothermal borehole in Utah to measure seismic activity. This technique, known as distributed acoustic sensing (DAS), uses variations in light reflection to detect tiny vibrations caused by seismic waves. The DAS array, consisting of 1,600 stations along the cable, recorded microearthquakes near the site. Analysis of the data revealed that seismic attenuation decreased with depth, though the specific cause varied due to differences in rock type. Interestingly, spectral stress drop, a measure of shear stress released during an earthquake, did not depend on the earthquake's magnitude. This finding could help scientists better understand the stress release processes in earthquakes, which is crucial for assessing seismic hazards. The study also highlights the potential biases introduced by cable orientation and gauge length, which could affect magnitude and corner frequency measurements. To mitigate these biases, future studies should compare source parameter data with those derived using other methods, such as the empirical Green's function approach.",
  "summary": "A better understanding of how earthquakes occur and what happens during a rupture is important for assessing seismic risk. Small earthquakes, which are more frequent than large ones, are a tempting data set, but they're hard to study, in large part because their energy is quickly sapped as it travels through Earth.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Eos",
        "title": "Shooting Light Pulses Down a 3-Kilometer Borehole Could Illuminate Seismic Hazards",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/shooting-light-pulses-down-a-3-kilometer-borehole-could-illuminate",
        "published": "2026-10-06T13:21:19.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}