Investigation the Thermodynamics Impact of Lithosphere-Atmosphere Coupling Associated With Major Earthquakes

We are studying the interaction between gases from the Earth (radon, methane, CO₂) that maybe associated with pre-seismic, co-seismic, and post-seismic activities with the standard atmosphere and assess their energies. There is an increasing amount of observational evidence that the concentration of these gases increases before major earthquakes. We formulate a hypothesis that an increase in the concentration of these gases triggers a thermodynamic coupling between the lithosphere-atmosphere-ionosphere coupling (LAIC) and is linked to the seismic cycle. Therefore by studying the LAIC processes we can detect variability in the Earth's gases, which allows us to make an inference about seismic activity. For this study we utilize both the innovative NASA and NOAA remote sensing data together with atmospheric assimilation models for an improved understanding of earthquake-associated processes. With the initial hypothesis of Gold and Soter (1985) about the deep origin of radon and methane and the fact that during an activation of faults within the area where an earthquake has occurs leads to an increased emanation of gases, we are exploring the feasibility of the detection of an increase in the concentration of these Earth gases by measuring their coupling impact on the Earth's atmosphere by observations ground and space. An examination of the mechanical and thermal energies budget of earthquakes using theory and observations for three mega quakes: Sumatra, M9.1, 26 December 2004; M8.7, 28 March 2005; and M9.0, Tohoku, 2011, will be made. Our estimates show that the latent heat released to the atmosphere prior to these earthquakes is larger than the seismic energy released during the quake. We show that in large earthquakes the associated phenomena may stand out energetically with measurements above a normal variance that arises from other geophysical processes. As we have a greater energy budget for these large events, we emphasize that we can asses more accurately the major earthquake's thermodynamic impact. Our results suggest the existence of an atmospheric response triggered by the coupling processes between the lithosphere and atmosphere. A detail summary of our approach to this study of pre-earthquake research has just been published as AGU/Wiley Geophysical Monograph Series No. 234.