By Ebele Orakpo

Most people never notice the faint vibrations always passing through the ground. Nigerian seismologist Joshua Osasona is showing that this quiet background “hum” can reveal hidden structures of the Earth and could even change how we study other planets.

Using a technique called ambient noise tomography, Osasona analyzes natural vibrations created by ocean waves, wind, and human activity. By cross-correlating these signals between hundreds of seismic stations placed across Kodiak Island, Alaska, he was able to create the first detailed maps of the island’s crust using a dense array of seismic nodes without relying on major earthquakes or costly artificial explosions.

The images revealed a massive underground body of igneous rock, known as a batholith, that acts as a structural backstop beneath Kodiak. This feature helps explain how stress builds and releases along the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone, the same fault system that produced the devastating 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake.

Scientists say the work is a breakthrough in how “noise” can be turned into knowledge. Because the method is low-cost and non-invasive, it opens the door to new studies of earthquake hazard and may even guide future efforts to image the crust of other planets and moons.

For his contributions, Osasona was honored by the National Association of Black Geoscientists (NABG), highlighting his role in advancing one of the most innovative frontiers in geophysics today.