Positive Hole Charge Carriers and their Role in Generating Pre-Earthquake Phenomena

All minerals that crystallize from a fluid-laden magma or recrystallize in a high-grade metamorphic environment, even nominally anhydrous minerals, incorporate traces of H2O into their matrices: feldspars, pyroxenes, olivines etc. Upon cooling below 600-400°C hydroxyl pairs such as O3Si-OH HO-SiO3 rearrange electronically to form peroxy bonds, O3Si-OO-SiO3 + H2. Thus peroxy defects are introduced into essentially all rocks in the upper portions of the Earth crust. I'll discuss 1. why peroxy defects are thermodynamically allowed; 2. how peroxy defects are activated by stress; 3. what happens when peroxy defects release positive holes and inject them into an otherwise insulating medium; 4. why positive holes have the ability to spread out of the stressed rock volume; 5. why most positive holes are long-lived; 6. how positive holes travel fast and far; 7. what happens when positive holes arrive at the Earth surface; 8. how positive holes can recombine at the surface, returning to the peroxy state and emitting IR radiation with characteristic spectroscopic signature; 9. how positive holes set up microscopic electric fields at rock surfaces, steep enough to field-ionize air molecules and even trigger corona discharges; 10. positive and negative air ionization; 11. selective coupling of positive airborne ions to the ionosphere; 12. how the positive holes flow is not inhibited by the presence of water in rock pores. 13. how positive holes change from electronic charge carriers to highly reactive oxygen radicals when they arrive at rock-water interfaces. The concept of the rock battery is based on the recognition that rocks, which are stressed, turn into a source of positive holes charge carriers. Those positive holes flow out along the self-generated potential gradient. They can generate electric currents, which generate EM signals. However, sustained currents are possible only if and when the battery circuit is closed. Circuit closure in the Earth crust is difficult but not impossible.