In seconds, fiber optic cables detect earthquake size

Scientists have discovered a new way to determine how big an earthquake may become just seconds after it begins.

In a new study published in Nature Communications, researchers from the U.S.

Geological Survey (USGS) and Cal Poly Humboldt used signals picked up by fiber-optic cables—the same ones that deliver high-speed internet—to accurately estimate when a moderate to large earthquake is underway using data from the first four seconds of seismic wave arrivals. ...