Seismic gap have occurred in previously-identified seismic gaps. Prior to the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, that segment of the San Andreas fault system recorded much less seismic activity than other parts of the fault. The main shock and aftershocks of the 1989 event occurred within the previous seismic gap. Immediately following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, a seismic gap analysis of the seismic zones around the Pacific Ocean identified the Central Kuril segment of the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench subduction zone as the most likely to give rise to a major earthquake. This zone, 500 km in length, at that time had experienced no
Seismic noise Seismic noise In geology and other related disciplines, seismic noise is a generic name for a relatively persistent vibration of the ground, due to a multitude of causes, that is a non-interpretable or unwanted component of signals recorded by seismometers. Physically, seismic noise consists mostly of surface waves. Low frequency waves (below 1 Hz) are generally called microseisms; high frequency waves (above 1 Hz) are called microtremors. Its causes include nearby human activities (such as traffic or heavy machinery), winds and other atmospheric phenomena, and ocean waves. Seismic noise is relevant to any discipline that depends on seismology, such as