Scientists compose 'concerto' out of volcano rumblings

Using a new seismic analysing method, European researchers are now able to listen to volcanoes sing.

Scientists from the University of Catania in Italy recorded low frequency seismic waves - which are usually inaudible to the human ear - and changed them into musical scores.

These "scores" can make it possible to predict future volcanic eruptions, the scientists say.

The method was tested on the largest volcano in Europe, Mount Etna, which is located on the Eastern Sicilian coast.

The team of scientists took Mount Etna's seismic wave record - also known as a seismogram - and placed the record onto blank music bars.

The bars were then overlaid with musical notes, so that a digital synthesiser was able to play the score.

The scientists used music recognition software to analyse the score for patterns.

So far, the team has analysed several hours of music with the software. They say some distinctive patterns have surfaced.

The scientists have since expanded their research to Ecuador to compose more scores for South American volcanoes, as part of the company E-Infrastructure shared between Europe and Latin America (EELA).

Photography: National Geographic

Source: Discovery Channel Reports, August 10 edition