Scientists puzzled by mysterious earthquake that rumbled around the world

Researchers have tracked the source of the seismic waves to near the island of Mayotte, but still don’t know the cause.

Ariana News Agency- Scientists have been stumped by the 20-minute rumble of a mysterious seismic wave which was detected earlier this month.

The tremor occurred on the morning of 11 November near the archipelago of Mayotte, a collection of French islands in the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and Mozambique.

It is unclear whether it was caused by volcanic activity or a meteor strike, but it was felt by seismometers across the world, from New Zealand to Canada – and even in Hawaii.

“It doesn’t mean that, in the end, the cause of them is that exotic,” Mr Ekstrom admitted, while acknowledging that the seismic waves were quite unusual.

Geologists shared their discovery of the surprisingly low frequency activity on Twitter, with Jamie Gurney, the founder of the UK Earthquake Bulletin, among the first to note the event.

Mr Gurney was soon joined by Anthony Lomax, who suggested the epicentres for the rumbles were just east of the Mayotte archipelago – but even with the location identified, the cause has remained a mystery.

A number of possibilities have been suggested, inspired by the fact that – despite the monitoring stations detecting seismic waves – there was no corresponding earthquake felt that morning.

The low frequency of the waves has been particularly interesting to seismologists.