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LOCKDOWN AND SOCIAL DISTANCING: ARE THERE ANY POSITIVES?

The coronavirus pandemic has transformed the way we live our lives. But the large number of people staying at home has provided some unexpected benefits for scientists

The coronavirus pandemic is undoubtedly a tragedy. None of us could have wanted this, and none of us have escaped its impact, between illness, workplace closures and cancelled social events.

The world of science is no exception. Cancer Research UK, for example, expects to lose up to £120m in funding – a quarter of its donated income – this year as a result of charity shop closures.

However, there are some areas of science where lockdown has offered an unexpected opportunity. As the world shut down, researchers in many fields have been suddenly presented with conditions they’d never have been able to create in the lab.

SEISMOLOGY

Every car, train and tube journey contributes to ‘anthropogenic’ (human-caused) seismic noise. With fewer of us travelling, these noises have decreased. In fact, seismologist Dr Paula Koelemeijer has recorded a 25 per cent drop in seismic noise at her home in London since lockdown began.

Koelemeijer uses seismic data to image structures inside the Earth. For her, less anthropogenic noise means better quality data. “If the recordings are too noisy due to anthropogenic noise or stormy weather … you might throw away the data and not use it in your analysis,” she says. Likewise when you’re able to image with lower noise levels, you can generally keep more of your data.