Emission of Rn and CO2 From Soil at Fault Zones Caused by Seismic Waves
Abstract In the search for precursors to earthquakes, correlation has been found between geochemical characteristics of soil gases and seismic activity. In this paper we present evidence that seismic waves can trigger emission of soil radon (Rn) and carbon dioxide (CO2). An active experiment was per...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Geophysical Union (AGU)
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Earth and Space Science |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023EA003012 |
| _version_ | 1797793338300039168 |
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| author | Lei Liu Zhi Chen Ying Li Zhaofei Liu Le Hu Xiang Wang Longxing Yang Jianguo Du Xiaocheng Zhou |
| author_facet | Lei Liu Zhi Chen Ying Li Zhaofei Liu Le Hu Xiang Wang Longxing Yang Jianguo Du Xiaocheng Zhou |
| author_sort | Lei Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract In the search for precursors to earthquakes, correlation has been found between geochemical characteristics of soil gases and seismic activity. In this paper we present evidence that seismic waves can trigger emission of soil radon (Rn) and carbon dioxide (CO2). An active experiment was performed in two fault zones in China, the Annighe fault in Sichuan province and the Xiadian fault in Heibei province. An active seismic source was used to generate seismic waves at 10 m depth in wells within bedrock. Rn and CO2 detectors were placed around the wells at a distance of ∼1 m for observing the effects of the seismic waves on the emission of the gases. The observations confirm that the seismic waves have a significant and direct effect on the concentration and flux of soil radon and carbon dioxide. When the seismic events were triggered, the observed concentrations of Rn and CO2 immediately increased and reached peak values within 5–50 min and 30–60 min, with corresponding increases of Rn and CO2 concentrations by 10.5%–238.7% and 3.1%–54.1%, respectively. The measured concentrations and flux of CO2 and Rn after the passage of the seismic waves showed strong correlation, confirming the suggestion that CO2 is the carrier gas for Rn. To the best of our knowledge this is the first direct, in‐situ measurement of gas emission caused by the passage of seismic waves and provides important constraints for better understanding of geochemical earthquake precursors. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T02:46:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e4730edb0c40450e94895e99e02d3726 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2333-5084 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T02:46:52Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | American Geophysical Union (AGU) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Earth and Space Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-e4730edb0c40450e94895e99e02d37262023-06-28T17:34:35ZengAmerican Geophysical Union (AGU)Earth and Space Science2333-50842023-06-01106n/an/a10.1029/2023EA003012Emission of Rn and CO2 From Soil at Fault Zones Caused by Seismic WavesLei Liu0Zhi Chen1Ying Li2Zhaofei Liu3Le Hu4Xiang Wang5Longxing Yang6Jianguo Du7Xiaocheng Zhou8United Laboratory of High‐Pressure Physics and Earthquake Science Institute of Earthquake Forecasting, CEA Beijing ChinaUnited Laboratory of High‐Pressure Physics and Earthquake Science Institute of Earthquake Forecasting, CEA Beijing ChinaUnited Laboratory of High‐Pressure Physics and Earthquake Science Institute of Earthquake Forecasting, CEA Beijing ChinaUnited Laboratory of High‐Pressure Physics and Earthquake Science Institute of Earthquake Forecasting, CEA Beijing ChinaUnited Laboratory of High‐Pressure Physics and Earthquake Science Institute of Earthquake Forecasting, CEA Beijing ChinaNational Key Laboratory of Shock Wave and Detonation Physics Institute of Fluid Physics, CAEP Mianyang ChinaUnited Laboratory of High‐Pressure Physics and Earthquake Science Institute of Earthquake Forecasting, CEA Beijing ChinaUnited Laboratory of High‐Pressure Physics and Earthquake Science Institute of Earthquake Forecasting, CEA Beijing ChinaUnited Laboratory of High‐Pressure Physics and Earthquake Science Institute of Earthquake Forecasting, CEA Beijing ChinaAbstract In the search for precursors to earthquakes, correlation has been found between geochemical characteristics of soil gases and seismic activity. In this paper we present evidence that seismic waves can trigger emission of soil radon (Rn) and carbon dioxide (CO2). An active experiment was performed in two fault zones in China, the Annighe fault in Sichuan province and the Xiadian fault in Heibei province. An active seismic source was used to generate seismic waves at 10 m depth in wells within bedrock. Rn and CO2 detectors were placed around the wells at a distance of ∼1 m for observing the effects of the seismic waves on the emission of the gases. The observations confirm that the seismic waves have a significant and direct effect on the concentration and flux of soil radon and carbon dioxide. When the seismic events were triggered, the observed concentrations of Rn and CO2 immediately increased and reached peak values within 5–50 min and 30–60 min, with corresponding increases of Rn and CO2 concentrations by 10.5%–238.7% and 3.1%–54.1%, respectively. The measured concentrations and flux of CO2 and Rn after the passage of the seismic waves showed strong correlation, confirming the suggestion that CO2 is the carrier gas for Rn. To the best of our knowledge this is the first direct, in‐situ measurement of gas emission caused by the passage of seismic waves and provides important constraints for better understanding of geochemical earthquake precursors.https://doi.org/10.1029/2023EA003012gas emissionRn and CO2active seismic eventin‐situ field observation |
| spellingShingle | Lei Liu Zhi Chen Ying Li Zhaofei Liu Le Hu Xiang Wang Longxing Yang Jianguo Du Xiaocheng Zhou Emission of Rn and CO2 From Soil at Fault Zones Caused by Seismic Waves Earth and Space Science gas emission Rn and CO2 active seismic event in‐situ field observation |
| title | Emission of Rn and CO2 From Soil at Fault Zones Caused by Seismic Waves |
| title_full | Emission of Rn and CO2 From Soil at Fault Zones Caused by Seismic Waves |
| title_fullStr | Emission of Rn and CO2 From Soil at Fault Zones Caused by Seismic Waves |
| title_full_unstemmed | Emission of Rn and CO2 From Soil at Fault Zones Caused by Seismic Waves |
| title_short | Emission of Rn and CO2 From Soil at Fault Zones Caused by Seismic Waves |
| title_sort | emission of rn and co2 from soil at fault zones caused by seismic waves |
| topic | gas emission Rn and CO2 active seismic event in‐situ field observation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023EA003012 |
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