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Coseismic radon changes in groundwater
Author(s) -
Wakita H.,
Igarashi G.,
Nakamura Y.,
Sano Y.,
Notsu K.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/gl016i005p00417
Subject(s) - radon , geology , groundwater , seismology , geotechnical engineering , quantum mechanics , physics
Coseismic changes in the radon concentration of groundwater were consistently observed at a sensitive observation station for all nearby earthquakes (100–130 km away) with magnitudes of 6.0 and over, and for some earthquakes of the same magnitudes occurring up to about 400 km away. A total of 11 coseismic changes, larger than 2σ of the noise level, were observed for 16 earthquakes which occurred during the observation period, between January 1984 and July 1988. A similar change was also found for an M7.9 earthquake at a distance of about 1000 km. The radon changes lasted a few days in most cases; they may be caused by changes in the earth's stress field.