Researchers have now ‘heard’ the echo of cyclones whirling ocean waters from all the way on the other side of our planet.

Microseismic waves generated by interactions between the ocean and Earth’s crust might be able to help us peer into otherwise hidden parts of Earth’s geological structure, such as regions left shrouded by a scarcity of high-energy earthquakes in the North Atlantic.

“Our research uses these microseismic phenomena as an alternative data source to study the Earth’s structure beneath Australia,” says seismologist Hrvoje Tkalčić from Australian National University.