Observation of the prior earthquake effect on the flux of environmental neutrons, gamma-radiation, and on the local electric field in Tien Shan mountain

TL;DR

This study investigates potential earthquake precursors by analyzing variations in environmental neutrons, gamma radiation, and electric fields in Tien Shan, revealing possible signals up to 2-3 days before seismic events.

Contribution

It introduces a specialized data filtration method to detect transient seismic signals and demonstrates correlations between geophysical parameters and earthquake activity.

Findings

Detected anomalies in neutron and gamma radiation before earthquake

Observed irregularities in local electric field correlated with seismic events

Potential identification of earthquake precursors 2-3 days prior

Abstract

A search for the possible precursors of an earthquake and its effect on the data series of diverse geophysical parameters has been made in the mountain of Northern Tien Shan. The complex installation included the NM64 type neutron supermonitor, detectors of the environmental low-energy neutrons, the scintillation gamma-detector, the sensor of the local electric field, a seismograph, and a weather-station. The specialized data filtration methodic was elaborated with an enhanced sensitivity to the transient signals of seismic origin. On the eve of, and after a 5.4 magnitude earthquake the fine features in temporal behavior of the intensity of low-energy neutron and gamma-radiation background, so as irregularities of the local electric field were observed which seem to be in a close correlation with each other. These results may be an evidence of the possibility of experimental identification of earthquake's precursors in the time up to 2-3 days before the beginning of a period of intensive tectonic activity.