The world is experiencing a growing number of earthquakes and with it, there is a growing wave of speculation about the potential role of HAARP technology.
What is HAARP technology?
The HAARP transmitter is used to heat and modify the ionosphere, a layer of electrically charged gas about 96 to 804 kilometers above Earth.
In 2015, the US Air Force transferred control of the facility to the University of Alaska Fairbanks.While HAARP's primary purpose is scientific research, some people believe that it can also be used to create earthquakes.
These claims have been circulating for decades, but they have gained renewed attention in recent years as the number of earthquakes has increased.
Is there any truth to these claims? Can HAARP really be used to create earthquakes? Or is this just a conspiracy theory?
After Türkiye earthquake back in February this year, HAARP Program Manager at the University of Alaska Fairbanks - Jessica Matthews - told Reuters,“The research equipment at the HAARP site cannot create or amplify natural disasters.”
- Communicating with submarines and aircraft in polar regions
- Improving our ability to predict weather patterns
- Understanding how solar storms affect Earth's atmosphere
Despite the efforts of scientists to explain the true purpose of the technology, some people continue to speculate about its potential for nefarious uses such as controlling the weather, disabling electronic devices, or even creating earthquakes.
However, there is no evidence to support these claims.
Can it be used to create quakes?
It might be 'theoretically' possible to use HAARP technology to create artificial earthquakes, but there is no evidence that this has ever been done.
This could potentially lead to changes in the stress distribution in the Earth's crust, which could trigger earthquakes.
First, the HAARP transmitter is not powerful enough to heat the ionosphere to the point where it could have a significant impact on the Earth's crust.
Second, even if the HAARP transmitter were powerful enough, it is not clear how to precisely control the effects of the ionosphere on the Earth's crust in order to trigger earthquakes at specific locations.
What scientists say?
According to David Hysell who is a Thomas R. Briggs professor of engineering at Cornell University, HAARP is a radio transmitter that is larger than most other radio transmitters.
However, it is not theoretically possible for it to create earthquakes.
David Malaspina, a research scientist at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder, told Reuters that HAARP's radio waves are similar to a strong AM radio broadcast station.
He said there is no known mechanism by which an AM radio broadcast can cause an earthquake.
Malaspina explained that these kinds of radio waves penetrate less than 1 centimetre into the ground, while earthquakes occur much deeper.
