Helium/radon precursory anomalies of Chamoli earthquake, Garhwal Himalaya, India

Abstract In the Garhwal Himalaya, the Bhagirthi and Alaknanda valleys were rocked respectively by two major earthquakes; the Uttarkashi earthquake of magnitude m b =6.5, M s = 7.0 on 20 October, 1991 and the Chamoli earthquake of m b =6.8, M s =6.5 on 29 March 1999, during this decade only. Both these seismic events are associated with ongoing deformation along the main central thrust (MCT) of the Himalayas. The helium and radon anomalies on 24 and 27 March 1999, respectively, were recorded at Palampur which is about 393 km from the Chamoli earthquake epicentre. A helium/radon ratio anomaly was recorded on 20 March, 9 days before the Chamoli earthquake. The precursory nature of radon and helium anomalies is a strong indicator of the physical basis of earthquake prediction and a preliminary test for the proposed conceptual helium/radon ratio model.

[1]  H. S. Virk,et al.  Radon anomalies in soil-gas and groundwater as earthquake precursor phenomena , 1993 .

[2]  Timothy P. Loomis,et al.  Tertiary mantle diapirism, orogeny, and plate tectonics east of the Strait of Gibraltar , 1975 .

[3]  S. Chandrasekaran,et al.  Uranium Mineralization in the Siwaliks of Northwestern Himalaya, India , 1993 .

[4]  H. S. Virk,et al.  Radon recording of Uttarkashi earthquake , 1994 .

[5]  R. Shanker,et al.  Rupture Mechanism of Chamoli Earthquake on 29 March 1999 and its Implications for Seismotectonics of Garhwal Himalaya , 2000 .

[6]  H. S. Virk,et al.  RADON PRECURSORY SIGNALS OF CHAMBA EARTHQUAKE , 1995 .

[7]  H. S. Virk,et al.  Correlation of radon anomalies with earthquakes in the Kangra Valley , 1992 .

[8]  P. Narula,et al.  Macroseismic studies of recent earthquakes in northwest Himalaya : a review , 1992 .

[9]  H. Wakita.  Geochemical challenge to earthquake prediction. , 1996, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[10]  H. S. Virk.  Radon monitoring of microseismicity in the Kangra and Chamba valleys of Himachal Pradesh, India , 1995 .

[11]  H. S. Virk.  Radon/helium studies for earthquake prediction in N-W Himalaya , 1999 .

[12]  N. Bhalla,et al.  A CLOSED CIRCUIT TECHNIQUE FOR RADON MEASUREMENT IN WATER AND SOIL, WITH SOME OF ITS APPLICATIONS. , 1968 .

[13]  K. Liu,et al.  Variations of radon content in groundwaters and possible correlation with seismic activities in northern Taiwan , 1984 .

[14]  R. C. Ramola,et al.  The use of radon as an earthquake precursor , 1990 .

[15]  J. Seidel,et al.  Short and long term radon in soil monitoring for geophysical purposes , 1995 .

[16]  H. S. Virk,et al.  CORRELATION OF ALPHA-LOGGER RADON DATA WITH MICROSEISMICITY IN N-W HIMALAYA , 1997 .

[17]  P. Silver,et al.  A Search for Earthquake Precursors , 1996, Science.

[18]  H. Wakita,et al.  Groundwater radon anomalies associated with earthquakes , 1990 .

[19]  Salvatore Lombardi,et al.  Radon and helium as pathfinders of fault systems and groundwater evolution in different Italian areas , 1999 .

[20]  H. S. Virk.  Radon studies for earthquake prediction, uranium exploration and environmental pollution: a review , 1990 .

[21]  T. A. K. Reddy.  Kimberlite and Lamproite Rocks of Vajrakarur Area, Andhra Pradesh , 1987 .

[22]  H. S. Virk,et al.  Randon/Helium Survey of Thermal Springs of Parbati, Beas and Sutlej Valleys in Himachal Himalaya , 1998 .

[23]  G. Martinelli,et al.  CO2 and radon measurements in the Vogtland Area (Germany) ‐ A contribution to earthquake prediction research , 1995 .