Atmospheric Plasmas that Precede Earthquakes in Seismically Active Areas

Abstract

The question that arises in this study is whether there is a potential relationship between the formation of ball lightning (BL) or plasmoids that occur in the atmosphere before earthquakes. Luminous phenomena occur in various parts of the world and a few years ago they are attracting the interest of a growing number of scientists. The physical mechanism that regulates the luminous phenomenon has not yet been fully understood and various hypotheses are being formulated in this regard. The anomalous luminous phenomena in the atmosphere show to have a relationship with the orientation of faults in tectonically active areas and with magnetic anomalies, but also in correspondence of hydrocarbon deposits. The light balls consist of "spheres" of different sizes, stationary or in motion with variable speeds. The ball lightning, by constitution, can be associated with plasmas that violate their neutrality condition, and manifest themselves in particular areas of the earth globe such as in Texas, Norway and the Po Valley and the Northern Apennines in Italy, which represent the area of research investigation. The spectrography of the light balls indicates the presence of gases such as hydrogen, oxygen and methane, associated with local seismic activity.

Keywords

• plasmas
• seismic precursors
• earthquakes
• hydrocarbon deposits
• ball lightning