Earth literally. The 2026 World Cup rocked the world after two goals secured Mexico’s victory over Ecuador in the round of 32.
Mexico’s Digital Platform for Early Warning and Comprehensive Risk Management (SASSLA) reported that fan celebrations after goals by Julián Quiñones and Raul Jiménez caused “a significant artificial signal” recorded by the Raspberry Shake seismograph located near Mexico City Stadium.
Seismic Alert System But note that his social media accounts say that “a wave of excitement and mass jubilation created a commotion in the local area.” One such incident occurred during Mexico’s debut against Germany at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, when Mexico’s Institute of Geological and Atmospheric Research reported that after Hirving Lozano’s winning goal, a seismic signal of artificial origin was detected by fans, “likely due to the mass jump.”
The phenomenon can occur thousands of miles from where the matches are being played: geophysicists detected an earthquake in Bergen, Norway, after the country’s team scored in the knockout rounds last week.
Something similar happened in 2024, when a Taylor Swift concert at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium produced long-duration, low-frequency signals — with harmonic frequency peaks between 1 and 10 Hz — that were detected by seismic monitoring sensors.
For many years now, the term “artificial earthquake” has been used to describe the unusual vibrations recorded by seismic systems during sporting events or large-scale performances. However, various experts believe that the term is not the most appropriate way to describe this type of phenomenon.
First, we should note that artificial earthquakes exist and have been studied for decades. Research: They are defined by Durham University’s Department of Geosciences as “human-induced earthquakes”, which are caused by activities capable of changing the geological behaviour of the Earth, such as the construction of tall buildings, groundwater extraction, tunnelling, oil recovery, hydraulic fracturing (ground gas), or storage.
Under this definition, the vibrations detected by the SASSLA systems following the Mexican team’s targets cannot be considered “artificial earthquakes”. Experts explain that, for a ground movement to be classified as an earthquake, it must be related to a geological process. The mere fact that a seismograph records a disturbance does not mean that it can be classified as an earthquake.
Arturo Iglesias, researcher at the Institute of Geophysics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico,
explained, ‘Many years ago, although human activities produce movements that can be recorded by seismographs, this does not mean that they are real geological phenomena that can be measured using earthquake magnitudes or cause changes in the earth’s surface.’
Iglesias added that seismic monitoring systems are capable of detecting micro-movements in the earth, whether natural or as a result of human activity. He also noted that readings can be affected by the stations’ locations, terrain characteristics, or the intensity of certain surface activities.
Even if a person jumps with the sensor, the system detects it, but it’s not an earthquake. An earthquake caused by scattered fan activity is a joke,” Iglesias stresses.
However, the unusual vibrations created by the simultaneous movement of thousands of people — such as the one that occurred after the Mexican national team scored a goal on Tuesday — have become an increasingly relevant area of research.
Experts believe that a deeper understanding of these signals will help develop more accurate methods. Analysis of seismic activity makes it easier to distinguish between the different types of vibrations recorded by the instruments. Additionally, this knowledge could fuel emerging applications, such as seismic interferometry—a technique that uses vibrations from everyday sources to study subsurface structures without waiting for controlled explosions or natural earthquakes.
