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Content archived on 2024-06-11

Assessment of capacity of soil gas radon monitoring in various active faults zones for prediction of earthquake occurrence

Objective


Foreseen Results

The objective is to produce a valuable tool for the prediction of earthquake occurrence, which may be combined with other specialised tools like seismometers or inclinometers for helping the national authorities in their decisional process.
This joint research proposal aims to study the relationship between seismic events caused by faults movements and the variation of concentration of radon (a rare gas produced by the radioactive decay of the crustal radium and used as a tracer of the rock strains) in soil gas.

The work carried out since may years in this field of work by the participants suffers mainly from the lack of data (only very few correlated events have been recorded and the records consist mainly of semi-long term - more than one week - integrated results), which do not allow until now an efficient enough cross correlation study.

The only way to fill in a database is obviously to increase the number of investigated sites along with an increase of the time of investigation. Therefore we propose to install small networks of radon measuring devices on different sites showing active geological structures, already equipped and studied by other methods (e.g. seismometers, inclinometers, meteorological parameters), to get cross-correlation with these other seismic indicators.

These networks will be installed on a semi-long term basis (they will normally be maintained in operation (depending upon their working-state) after the end of the research programme), after a careful "calibration" of the zone to be studied.

The working programme will consist mainly in:

- field calibration (radon and geological mapping) of the chosen regions,
- implementation of the network with its satellite link,
- collection of the radon data together with the other available parameters,
- study of the obtained signals, extraction of the tidal and meteorological effects, and cross-correlation with the seismic events through the other seismic connected parameters.

Call for proposal

Data not available

Coordinator

Algade
EU contribution
No data
Address

87250 Bessines-sur-Gartempe
France

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Total cost
No data

Participants (7)