Data from the BGS Seismology team, led by Dr Brian Baptie, has helped to illustrate a dramatic reduction in seismic activity and earth vibrations — or ‘noise’ — during lockdown.
The data was transformed into an illustration as part of ‘Nature in Lockdown’, a Natural History Museum (NHM) public engagement initiative that crowdsourced research ideas to discover which environmental impacts of COVID-19 people were most interested in.

How the UK went quiet, copyright Natural History Museum.
As part of the initiative, NHM collaborated with data visualisation company Beyond Words, who approached BGS to help illustrate some of the environmental changes wrought by lockdown.
The seismic data was brought to their attention when BGS seismologists observed a drop in seismic activity throughout March 2020 in some locations across the UK.
Some areas of the UK were noisier during lockdown, but most of the country vibrated less; a pattern also noted by scientists in locations across Europe when entire countries were brought to a standstill.
We compared the average daytime noise levels at seismic stations in the UK in the two week period since the start of the COVID-19 lockdown with the average noise levels for the beginning of the year. The results show reductions in noise levels at most of our stations of between 10 and 50 per cent.
We see that some of the biggest noise reductions are at sites closest to sources of human-generated noise. Much of our understanding about the Earth comes from observations of earthquakes. So in theory, this could lead to new insights about our planet.
Brian Baptie, BGS Seismologist.
The Nature in Lockdown initiative drew on a variety of open-source data and scientific databases and documented the dramatic drop in driving and public transport use, and the changes to sightings of both animals and birds.
The project, which received funding from the Natural Environment Research Council, culminated in a live interactive virtual ‘Lates’ event on Friday 25 September, during which audiences posed questions to young and emerging researchers about those topics.
These fascinating visualisations, the result of a collaboration between scientists, our digital teams and Beyond Words, bring to life some of the astonishing impacts lockdown has had on our environments and how we noticed and experienced nature in a new and different way.
Clare Matterson, NHM’s executive director of engagement.
You can view the illustrations on The Natural History Museum website.
Find out more about how the BGS collects data to improve our understanding of earthquake hazards.
Relative topics
Related news

Why do we store geological core?
11/09/2025
With space at a premium and the advance of new digitisation techniques, why does retaining over 600 km of physical specimens remain of national importance?

New seabed sediment maps reveal what lies beneath the waves
03/09/2025
Marine ecosystem science and offshore infrastructure will be boosted by a new dataset showing sediment composition across the UK continental shelf.

New geological ‘pathways’ discovered beneath Welsh capital
02/09/2025
Scientists have discovered cavities in the clay underneath Cardiff, which will influence the siting of future geothermal developments.

BGS artificial ground data: what do you need from a geological survey?
28/08/2025
BGS is seeking user feedback on artificial ground data: how you use it, what information you consider, and what we can do to improve our offering.

New research published on brownfield land
27/08/2025
National Brownfield Forum research on the interactions of policies affecting the planning and development of brownfield land has been published.

Join our consortium – de-risking underground thermal energy storage
25/08/2025
BGS is inviting interested parties to investigate how site-scale geological data can be used to optimise thermal storage scheme performance.

Dr Kathryn Goodenough appointed as honorary professor by the University of Aberdeen
25/08/2025
Dr Goodenough will take up the position within the School of Geosciences with a focus on critical minerals and the energy transition.

BGS scientists work with United Nations to update hazard profiles
21/08/2025
From tsunamis to sinkholes, the profiles provide a standardised, internationally agreed definition of hazards to support disaster risk management worldwide.

Scientists uncover secrets of Stonehenge’s mysterious cattle
20/08/2025
Cutting-edge analysis of a Neolithic cow tooth dating back to the construction of the famous landmark provides evidence of Welsh origins.

New study reveals geological facility’s value to UK economy
19/08/2025
For the first time, an economic valuation report has brought into focus the scale of the National Geological Repository’s impact on major infrastructure projects.

Is your region susceptible? Britain’s geohazard hotspots revealed
14/08/2025
From sinkholes to radon: new maps highlight the most geologically at-risk regions

New platform highlights geothermal potential across the UK
11/08/2025
A new government-funded geothermal initiative, which includes an interactive map, has launched to help decision makers assess the geothermal potential across the UK.