Can 'guess the earthquake' by air

A few days before the massive earthquake in March occurred in Japan, the air above the epicenter changed abnormally.

Dimitar Ouzounov, Chapman University 's Earth Science professor in California, USA, and his colleagues analyzed satellite data about air in the area affected by the historic earthquake in Japan on November 11. / 3. They found that the electron density in the ionosphere and infrared radiation increased in the days before the earthquake occurred, Livescience said.

Before seismic occurrence, the milling line (or broken line) releases more radon than normal. This process releases heat and scientists can detect that heat with an infrared radiation detector.

People walked on a flooded road because of the earthquake in March in the city
Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture. Photo: AP.

Ouzounov said the team collected data related to more than 100 earthquakes in Asia. They found that the electron density in the ionosphere and infrared radiation in the atmosphere always increases before earthquakes with magnitude of 5.5 or more and the epicenter is located in depths less than 50 km.

However, many scientists are still skeptical about the ability to predict earthquakes based on data from the air.

'Ouzounov's discovery is very interesting, but I can't call it a breakthrough discovery,' commented Henry Pollack, a University of Michigan geophysic professor.

Geography professor Terry Tullis of Brown University in the US said that the scientific community has done a lot of research on earthquake forecasts and they have never been too excited about every new finding.

' I don't want to deny the possibility of air-based earthquake prediction, but at the moment, people should be skeptical, ' Tullis said.