Hydrogeochemical earthquake precursors (on the example of areas of the kamchatka peninsula, Russia, and the Republic of Uzbekistan)

Abstract

Hydrogeochemical precursors of the earthquakes (HGCP) in changes of ion-salt and gas composition of underground waters from self-discharging wells and springs on the territory of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky testsite, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia and Tashkent testsite, Republic of Uzbekistan are considered. There has been analyzed the connection of HGCP with parameters of earthquakes — with correlation between magnitudes and epicentral distances, as well as with values of specific density of seismic energy in the wave, intensity of ground shaking and other parameters of earthquake impact in the regions of observation. In Kamchatka wells HGCP were revealed before the earthquakes with Mw = 6.5 to 7.8 at epicentral distances de = 100 to 310 km at relatively narrow ranges of values of seismic energy density in the wave (0.1 to 0.3 J/m3), volumetric coseismic deformation of water-containing rocks (one to tens 10-9) and maximal velocities of seismic waves (3.5–7.7 cm/sec). HGCP took place in the zones with intensity of the earthquakes not less than 4 to 6 by MSK-64 scale and were confined to the intermediate zones of sources of future earthquakes. Duration of HGCP development and their appearance before the following earthquakes amount to 1 to 9 months, which allows using such precursors for prediction of time of strong earthquakes.

Keywords

• well
• groundwater chemistry
• earthquake
• magnitude
• precursor