Tectonic Early Warning System Through Real-Time Radon (Rn) Monitoring: Preliminary Results of a Geophysical Method for Forecasting Earthquakes

Earthquakes are a major natural hazard in numerous parts of the world, and research into precursor signals of seismic activity has mobilised the scientific community for many years. Since earthquakes are a physical phenomenon, attempts for predicting these events in terms of date, magnitude and epicenter have traditionally called upon geophysical methods (seismology, deformation of the ground, electrical methods, etc.). In order to understand more the underlying processes involved, it is necessary to undertake extended periods of monitoring of individual gases at one or more locations, and statistically analyze the compositional data in relation to the observed seismic activity and the effects of extraneous variables. These geophysical anomalies indicate that the faults are zones of weakness acting as channels for deep degassing processes. Numerous successes in forecasting were subsequently recorded through the study of radon emanation in the soils and ground waters of seismic zones. Research into earthquake precursor signals requires continuous instrument surveillance of the selected geophysical parameters.