Once every four years, soccer fans around the world cheer on their favorite teams participating in the FIFA World Cup. Norway fans have been in a 28-year drought, last cheering on their men's team in the 1998 event.
This time around, the Norway team took on Iraq in their first match. During the game, the University of Bergen's Department of Earth Science recorded seismic activity in the basement of the building where their equipment is located. A similar pattern emerged for the second match against Senegal. The movement, however, was not related to any natural event. The small earthquakes coincided with goals that team Norway made during the games. It was particularly evident in the data when Norway's football superstar, Erling Haaland, scored a goal.
The equipment is quite sensitive, so it can pick up activity produced in natural earthquake situations, and in scenarios like this, where thousands of people are jumping and yelling in unison to support their favorite team. The collective enthusiasm can generate enough kinetic energy to travel through buildings and be recorded in any nearby seismometer.
While this phenomenon happens at many sports and even music venues, it doesn't occur as often in places like Bergen. Professors Mathilde Sørensen and Lars Ottemöller at the University say the phenomenon just demonstrates that, "Bergen is a vibrant city with a lot of energy. Go Bergen and go Norway!"