Seismic Data Can Identify Aircraft by Type

Seismic data can identify aircraft by type

Instruments typically used to detect the ground motion of earthquakes can also be used to identify the type of aircraft flying far overhead, research by University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists shows. That's because aircraft sound waves also shake the ground, though to a much lesser extent.

Seismic Sensors Used to Identify Types of Aircraft Flying Over Alaska | Seismological Society of America

18 November 2025—An array of seismic sensors deployed to capture aftershocks from the 2018 magnitude 7.1 Anchorage earthquake also collected distinctive signals from hundreds of flights crossing over Alaska. In their study published in The Seismic Record, Isabella Seppi and colleagues at the University of Alaska Fairbanks show that these signals can be used to identify the type of aircraft, along with details such as the closest time, distance a…