Posted on 05/19/2011 5:42:43 PM PDT by blam
Atmosphere Above Japan Heated Rapidly Days Before Earthquake
Politics / Environmental Issues
May 18, 2011 - 01:15 PM
By: Chris Kitze
Infrared emissions above the epicentre increased dramatically in the days before the devastating earthquake in Japan, say scientists
Geologists have long puzzled over anecdotal reports of strange atmospheric phenomena in the days before big earthquakes. But good data to back up these stories has been hard to come by.
In recent years, however, various teams have set up atmospheric monitoring stations in earthquake zones and a number of satellites are capable of sending back data about the state of the upper atmosphere and the ionosphere during an earthquake.
Last year, we looked at some fascinating data from the DEMETER spacecraft showing a significant increase in ultra-low frequency radio signals before the magnitude 7 Haiti earthquake in January 2010
Today, Dimitar Ouzounov at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre in Maryland and a few buddies present the data from the Great Tohoku earthquake which devastated Japan on 11 March. Their results, although preliminary, are eye-opening.
They say that before the M9 earthquake, the total electron content of the ionosphere increased dramatically over the epicentre, reaching a maximum three days before the quake struck.
At the same time, satellite observations showed a big increase in infrared emissions from above the epicentre, which peaked in the hours before the quake. In other words, the atmosphere was heating up.
These kinds of observations are consistent with an idea called the Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Ionosphere Coupling mechanism. The thinking is that in the days before an earthquake, the great stresses in a fault as it is about to give cause the releases large amounts of radon.
The radioactivity from this gas ionises the air on a large scale and this has a number of knock on effects. Since water molecules are attracted to ions in the air, ionisation triggers the large scale condensation of water.
But the process of condensation also releases heat and it is this that causes infrared emissions. "Our first results show that on March 8th a rapid increase of emitted infrared radiation was observed from the satellite data," say Ouzounov and co.
These emissions go on to effect the ionosphere and its total electron content.
It certainly makes sense that the lithosphere, atmosphere and ionosphere are coupled in a way that can be measured when one of them is perturbed. The question is to what extent the new evidence backs up this idea.
The Japan earthquake is the largest to have struck the island in modern times and will certainly turn out to be among the best studied. If good evidence of this relationship doesn't emerge from this data, other opportunities will be few and far between.
Ref: arxiv.org/abs/1105.2841: Atmosphere-Ionosphere Response to the M9 Tohoku Earthquake Revealed by Joined Satellite and Ground Observations. Preliminary Results.
Interesting.
Thanks! Very interesting!
Wow, this would be an enormous find if it turned out to be a verifiable precursor to a major temblor. My question would be: How do you report it without setting off a never before seen panic in any metropolitan area.
The explanation...
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Gojira_1954_Japanese_poster.jpg
We call that “earthquake weather” here...
If this can be scientifically proven over period of time, it will be huge. However, for the reasons you mentioned I don’t think it will be used often, if at all for the public. Maybe first responders, manufacturing and utilities.
New evidence global warming causes earthquakes! I knew it, I just knew it!
... And the earthquake lady at Cal Tech admits that “unofficially” they think there may be some basis for “earthquake weather”.
Maybe those Russian scientists who insist that earthquakes are caused by methane emissions from deep under the earth are on to something.
Very, very interesting indeed! Could be very useful info if it pans out!
Actually the premise of the article makes a lot of sense to me. The stresses that lead to big earthquakes must emit some sort of detectable electronic or thermal signature. This discovery may help open the way to methods of predicting big quakes.
Interesting.......
I don’t know. I can’t imagine someone having information like that and not telling everyone. When word got out he would be drawn and quartered by families of the casualties.
Sounds like the American or Russian HAARP programs has been doing its job.
It’s HAARP
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Damn, globul warming strikes again!
What if the atmosphere also suddenly heats when there aren’t earthquakes? Be hard to decide when to take action and when not to.
. . . . . Off Topic.
Atmosphere Above Japan Heated Rapidly Days Before Earthquake
Thanks, SunkenCiv.
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