Predict earthquakes by measuring underground minerals

Geologists from Stockholm University (Sweden) said that changing mineral concentrations in groundwater (such as sodium and hydrogen) could be an early warning sign for earthquakes.

>>>New direction in earthquake warning
>>> Mexico invented cheap earthquake warning system

Historically, Japanese scientists have recorded an unusual change in the concentration of radon and groundwater chemicals before the Kobe earthquake in 1995 and the 1978 earthquake in the island. Izu Oshima. The same phenomenon appeared before the seismic massacre in 1976 with the epicenter near Tangshan City (China). That's why Stockholm University experts spend years watching groundwater components with the idea that this might be the best indicator of forecasting earthquakes before it starts.

With the help of colleagues in Iceland, the team led by expert Alasdair Skelton examined the composition of groundwater at a depth of 100m near the town of Husavík once a week from 2008 to 2013. Published on Natural Geoscience magazine, the team said that the concentration of some minerals in the water began to increase before the earthquake occurred about 4 to 6 months. This development was recorded in the magnitude 5.6 earthquake in October 2012 and repeated before another earthquake of magnitude 5.5 in Richter scale in April 2013 in Iceland.

According to analytical results, only sodium and hydrogen show marked changes. Specifically, the concentration of these two minerals increased sharply before the earthquake occurred after many months of continuous decline, while the concentration of oxygen, silicon and potassium also changed but not significantly. After the tremor, they all returned to normal. Geological expert Skelton said the team is still not clear why the early warning signs came from groundwater. However, they hypothesized that very small cracks in the Earth's crust would expand as they extended near the major fault point, causing groundwater to overflow in new areas and entrain minerals in rock.

Scientists hope that decades-long research will help confirm a natural phenomenon that could be a reliable sign of earthquake early warning. In particular, the researchers will answer questions such as: the chemical content of groundwater can predict the time and place of earthquakes? How intense is it? How much increase in sodium content will earthquakes happen? .

The title has been reset by repository.