ARTICLE IN PRESS

Applied Radiation and Isotopes 67 (2009) 1904–1911

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Applied Radiation and Isotopes

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/apradiso

Earthquake precursory studies in Kangra valley of North West Himalayas,

India, with special emphasis on radon emission
Arvind Kumar a, Surinder Singh a,, Sandeep Mahajan a, Bikramjit Singh Bajwa a,
Rajeev Kalia b, Sunil Dhar b
a
Department of Physics, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar 143005, India
b
Department of Geology, Government College, Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, India

a r t i c l e in f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The continuous soil gas radon monitoring is carried out at Palampur and the daily monitoring of radon
Received 2 April 2009 concentration in water is carried out at Dharamshala region of Kangra valley of North West Himalayas,
Received in revised form India, a seismic zone V, to study the correlation of radon anomalies in relation to seismic activities. In
19 May 2009
this study, radon monitoring in soil was carried out by using barasol probe manufactured by Algade
Accepted 25 May 2009
France, whereas the radon content in water was recorded using RAD 7 radon monitoring system of
Durridge Company USA. The effect of meteorological parameters viz. temperature, pressure, wind
Keywords: velocity, rainfall, and humidity on radon emission has been studied. The seasonal average value and
Radon in water standard deviation of radon in soil and water is calculated to find the radon anomaly to minimize the
Radon in soil
effect of meteorological parameters on radon emission. The radon anomalies observed in the region
NW Himalayas
have been correlated with the seismic events of MZ2 reported by Wadia Institute of Himalayas Geology
Earthquake precursor
Dehradoon and Indian Meteorological Department, New Delhi in NW Himalayas within 250 km distance
from the monitoring stations.
& 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction A number of earthquake precursors have already been reported

The Himalayas are tectonically active due to the northward
movement of the Indian plate. The Indian plate converges
northwards at an average rate of 50 mm/y and is under thrusting
Tibet. Of the total convergence, 20 mm/y (Bilham et al., 1997) is
accommodated across the Himalaya and the remaining conver-
gence is taken up farther north (Peltzer and Saucier, 1996). The
northward convergence of Indian plate keep Himalayan arc
seismically active and earthquake prone. Major earthquakes in
recent past along the Himalayan arc include Shillong earthquake
(Ms 8.7, 1897), Kangra earthquake (Ms 8.6, 1905), Bihar–Nepal
border (Ms 8.4, 1934) and Assam earthquake (Ms 8.7, 1950). The
frequent occurrence of small magnitude earthquakes indicate that
the Himalayas are under unusually high stress and strain.
Earthquakes are one of the most deadly natural disasters.
Throughout the world, devastating earthquakes occur with little
or no advance warning. Some of these earthquakes kill hundreds
of people. If the times, magnitudes, and locations of these
earthquakes could be accurately predicted, many lives could be
saved.
in literature (Virk and Singh, 1992; Hartmann and Levy, 2005;
Italiano et al., 2008; Walia et al., 2005, 2006; Einarsson et al.,
2008). Among these radon is also used as an earthquake
precursor. Before earthquakes, radon anomalies were observed
quite often in soil and groundwater or spring water, e.g. Tashkent
earthquake of 1966 (Ulomov and Mavashev, 1967).
In the present investigations the radon monitoring in soil gas
from 01/01/07 to 14/06/08 and in groundwater from 01/01/07 to
31/07/08 in Kangra valley of NW Himalayas which falls in the
seismic zone V of India is carried out to see the usefulness of
radon for earthquake prediction studies. There are a number of
variables other than seismic events that influence radon emana-
tion from earth’s surface at a given location. The most important
factor is influence of meteorological parameters, viz. temperature,
pressure, wind velocity, rainfall, and humidity (Kraner et al., 1964;
Pearson, 1967; Virk et al., 2000; Mukherji and Chatterjee, 2001).
The effect of meteorological variables on radon concentration in
soil gas and groundwater is taken into consideration.
2. Geology of the area

The Kangra valley is enclosed between the middle Siwaliks and

 Corresponding author. Tel.: +911832257007; fax: +911832258820. the Dhauladhar range. The radon monitoring stations fall in the
E-mail address: surinder_s1951@yahoo.co.in (S. Singh). immediate vicinity of outer Himalayan zones and the lesser

0969-8043/$ - see front matter & 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.apradiso.2009.05.016
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
A. Kumar et al. / Applied Radiation and Isotopes 67 (2009) 1904–1911
34
Main Thrust
Radon Network
33
Latitude (deg. N)
Dharamshala
32 Palampur
MCT
Study Area
31
India
MBT
30
73 74 75 76 77 78
Longitude (deg E)
Fig. 1. Map showing the locations of monitoring station (radon network) in NW
Himalayas, India.
Himalayan zones comprising the Siwalik hills with altitude
varying upto 4500 m and valley with 900 m, general altitude
northwards. The Siwaliks are divided in to three divisions: the
lower, the middle and the upper Siwaliks which normally persist
throughout the sequence. The radon monitoring stations (Radon
Network), as shown in Fig. 1, were chosen to be along the main
boundary thrust (MBT) and main central thrust (MCT) to have
maximum radon release from the deep source; Palampur being
situated to the south of MBT. The rock units lying between the
MBT and the MCT are included under the lesser Himalayan zone.
Presence of kyenite to this assemblage marks the middle Siwalik
suite of heavy minerals. Siwalik sediments contain, in general,
3–10 ppm of uranium, which is higher than the world average of
2.1 ppm in greywakes and 1.5 ppm in arkoses (Wedephol, 1978).
The rocks present in the Palampur area are conglomerates,
medium to coarse-grained sandstones with pebbles interbedded
with thin clay beds.
3. Experiment technique
3.1. Continuous monitoring of radon in soil
For continuous monitoring of radon, temperature and pressure
in soil gas, BMC2 radon probe (Fig. 2) manufactured by Algade
France is used. It consists of radon sensor (Silicon alpha sensitive
detector) that records the radon gas enters into the detection
chamber. The BMC2 probe is composed of a detection unit,
electronics and a battery unit fitted inside a mechanism consisting
of a tube made of an epoxy glass material 61 mm in diameter and
500 mm long. As standard, an 8 pin connector provides the probe
interconnection and control. The connector has an air and water
tight index of IP 68 when covered by the cap. The battery unit
holds 2  1.5 V alkaline batteries. Two good quality alkaline
batteries give the probe more than 6 months’ independent
operation. The memory capacity is 1 year. It is installed in soil
1905
at a depth of 1.10 m below the ground at Palampur in Kangra
valley NW Himalaya, India.
3.2. Radon monitoring in water
3.2.1. Collection of samples
For the measurement of radon concentration a sample of
250 ml water is collected daily from natural groundwater source
in Dharamshala. The radon sampling is complicated by the fact
that the gas easily escapes from water and therefore has to be
done without any aeration which might lead to out gassing. So the
water sample was collected in such a way that there was no
bubbling.
3.2.2. Rad-H2O technique
RAD 7 (Fig. 3) procured from Durridge Company, USA, has been
used for monitoring radon concentration in water. The method
employs a closed loop aeration scheme, whereby the air volume
and water volume are constant and independent of the flow rate.
The air recirculates through the water and continuously extracts
the radon until a state of equilibrium develops. The RAD-H2O
system reaches this state of equilibrium within about 5 min, after
which no more radon can be extracted from the water. The setup
79 consists of three components, the RAD 7, on the right, the vial,
center front, and the tube of desiccant, top left. The case provides
a convenient stand for the tube of desiccant, held up between the
two clasps on the lid, and also for the vial in the foam cavity.
During 5 min of aeration more than 95% of the available radon is
removed from the water.
4. Results and discussion
4.1. Effect of meteorological parameters on radon emission
The variation of radon concentration in soil gas along with
the meteorological parameters viz. temperature, pressure, wind
velocity, rainfall, and humidity in the campus of Himachal
Pradesh, Krishi Vishvavidalya Palampur, from 01/01/07 to 31/12/
2007 is shown in Fig. 4. The average value of radon for soil gas at
Palampur for this time window is reported to be 56 kBq/m3 with a
standard deviation (Std.) of 42 kBq/m3. The percentage variation
coefficient (Std./Avg.) of radon is 74% (Table 1).
Radon shows positive correlation with temperature, i.e.
the value of radon concentration increases as temperature
increases and decreases with decrease in temperature (Fig. 4).
The correlation coefficient between radon and temperature is
found to be 0.5 (Table 1). The average value of temperature for the
given time window was 19 1C with a standard deviation of 5 1C
and percentage variation coefficient of 26% (Table 1).
Negative correlation coefficient 0.3 between radon and
pressure has been found i.e. radon decreases with increase in
pressure and vice versa. The average value of pressure for the
given time window was 873 mbar with a standard deviation of
5 mbar and percentage variation coefficient of 0.6% (Table 1).
From Fig. 4, it is clear that radon values show similar trend
with the relative humidity; i.e., with an increase in relative
humidity the radon values increase. The average value of relative
humidity for the given time window was 53% with a standard
deviation of 21% and percentage variation coefficient of 40%
(Table 1).
The average value of wind velocity was found to be 6 km/h
with a standard deviation of 1 km/h and percentage variation
coefficient of 17%. Wind velocity causes a decrease in soil gas
radon concentration because soil gas is being diluted or removed
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
1906 A. Kumar et al. / Applied Radiation and Isotopes 67 (2009) 1904–1911
Fig. 2. Sketch of BMC2 radon probe and view of installed probe at monitoring station.
Fig. 3. Sketch of RAD 7 aerating a 250 ml water sample.
at the surface (Kraner et al., 1964; Miller and Ostle, 1973; Jaacks,
1984; Hesselbom, 1985; Lindmark and Rosen, 1985; Singh et al.,
1988; Virk et al., 2000).
No correlation has been observed between radon and rainfall
in the study area during the present investigations. The average
value of rainfall was found to be 5 mm with a standard deviation
of 11 mm and percentage variation coefficient of 220 (Table 1).
A correction for these correlations to obtain a corrected radon
concentration that shows less variability and may correlate better
with earthquake events can be applied by using the following
equation:
R ¼ 0:5T  0:3P þ 0:5H  0:01RF  0:5WV þ 173
where T is temperature, P is pressure, H is humidity, RF is rainfall,
and WV is wind velocity. However, this equation will be applicable
and useful when more data will be available. Similar equation of
linear regression is also reported by Miklavcic et al. (2008) for
such type of studies.
The variation of radon concentration in soil gas along with
meteorological parameters viz. temperature, pressure in the
campus of Himachal Pradesh, Krishi Vishvavidalya Palampur,
from 01/01/08 to 14/06/2008 is shown in Fig. 5. The average value
of radon for soil gas at Palampur for this time window is reported
to be 37 kBq/m3 with a standard deviation (Std.) of 10 kBq/m3. The
percentage variation coefficient (Std./Avg.) of radon is 27%. Radon
show positive correlation (0.3) with temperature and negative
correlation (0.02) with pressure during this time period.
4.2. Correlation of radon anomalies with seismic event
In order to identify possible threshold values of the anomalous
radon concentration various statistical methods have been used
by different authors in the past (Klusman, 1993; Lepeltier, 1969;
Guerra and Lombardi, 2001; Fu et al., 2005; Yang et al., 2005;
Walia et al., 2005). The very common practice of considering the
mean plus ‘n’ standard deviation is generally accepted as an
anomaly in soil gas and is found to be convenient for soil gas
survey interpretations (Guerra and Lombardi, 2001; Fu et al.,
2005; Singh et al., 2006; Walia et al., 2005). In our context of
radon concentration the statistical threshold value of gas
anomalies is fixed at the average plus two standard deviation
(2s) for positive anomaly and average minus two standard
deviation (2s) for negative anomalies in soil and groundwater. It
is the general criteria being used at the International level (Guerra
and Lombardi, 2001; Fu et al., 2005; Singh et al., 2006; Walia et al.,
2005) for defining radon anomaly with better accuracy and to
minimize the background levels. The radon data show anomalous
behavior with different meteorological and geophysical para-
meters. Table 2 shows the seasonal average value and standard
deviation of radon in soil and water, soil temperature, soil
pressure humidity, rainfall, and wind velocity at Palampur and
Dharamshala. It is used to find the radon anomaly to minimize the
effect of meteorological parameters on radon emission for the
(1) given time window.
The daily variation of radon concentration in soil gas with
seismic events at Palampur from 01/01/07 to 14/06/08 is shown
in Figs. 6 and 7, respectively. Radon anomalies recorded in
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
A. Kumar et al. / Applied Radiation and Isotopes 67 (2009) 1904–1911 1907

200

Radon (kBq/m3)
100

7
7
07

7
07

07
7

l-0

-0
-0
-0

-0

-0

-0

-0
-0
n-

n-
b-

ct
r
ar

ov

ec
ay

Ju
Ap
Ja

Ju

Au

Se
Fe

O
M

D
M
Date
Temperature (°C)

30

20

10

910
Pressure (mbar)

885

860

11.0
Avg. Wind Speed
(km/h)

7.0

3.0

80.0
Rainfall (mm)

40.0

0.0

100
Humidity (%)

60

20

Fig. 4. Daily variation of radon concentration in soil along with meteorological parameters viz. temperature, pressure, wind velocity, rainfall, and humidity at Palampur
from 01/01/07 to 31/12/07.

Table 1
Correlation coefficient of radon concentration in soil gas with different meteorological parameters at Palampur from 01/01/07 to 31/12/07.

Parameters Average (Avg.) Standard deviation (Std.) % Variation coefficient (Std./Avg.) Correlation coefficient

Radon (kBq/m3) 56 42 74 –
Temperature (1C) 19 5 26 0.5
Pressure (mbar) 873 5 0.6 0.3
Humidity (%) 53 21 40 0.5
Rainfall (mm) 5 11 220 0.001
Wind velocity (km/h) 6 1 17 0.5

soil gas at Palampur are shown in Table 3. Eight positive event of 2.2 M (31.21N, 77.21E) about a week prior to the event i.e.
anomalies and two negative anomalies were recorded. The first 12/03/07. Second anomaly was observed on 15/03/07 followed by
radon anomaly was recorded on 04/03/07 which was followed by event 3.2 M (31.11N, 78.21E) 12 days before the event which
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
1908 A. Kumar et al. / Applied Radiation and Isotopes 67 (2009) 1904–1911

80

Radon (kBq/m3)
40

0
Jan-08 Feb-08 Mar-08 Apr-08 May-08
Date
25
Temperature (°C)

20

15

10
890
Pressure (mbar)

875

860

Fig. 5. Daily variation of radon concentration in soil along with meteorological parameters viz. temperature and pressure at Palampur from 01/01/08 to 14/06/08.

Table 2
Seasonal average value and standard deviation of radon concentration in soil and water with different meteorological parameters at Palampur and Dharamshala.

Parameter Time period Average Standard Parameter Time period Average Standard
(Avg.) deviation (Avg.) deviation (Std.)
(Std.)

Radon in soil (Palampur) January–March 2007 39 26 Radon in water January–March 2007 74 15

(kBq/m3) (Dharamshala) (Bq/l)
April–June 2007 27 13 April–June 2007 61 17
July–September 2007 10 39 July–September 2007 82 50
October–December 59 36 October–December 21 9
2007 2007
January–March 2008 34 8 January–March 2008 24 8
April–June 2008 40 8 April–June 2008 19 9

Temperature (oC) January–March 2007 13 1 Pressure (mbar) January–March 2007 876 4

April–June 2007 20 3 April–June 2007 872 3
July–September 2007 24 1 July–September 2007 868 3
October–December 19 3 October–December 876 2
2007 2007
January–March 2008 13 3 January–March 2008 874 2
April–June 2008 21 2 April–June 2008 870 3

Wind speed (km/h) January–March 2007 6 1 Rainfall (mm) January–March 2007 5 12

April–June 2007 7 1 April–June 2007 4 9
July–September 2007 5 1 July–September 2007 11 16
October–December 6 1 October–December 1 3
2007 2007

Humidity (%) January–March 2007 47 16 Humidity (%) July–September 2007 80 10

April–June 2007 40 18 October–December 48 10
2007

occurred on 27/03/07. The third anomaly was recorded on 09/05/
07 followed by event 2.7 M (31.91N, 77.61E) four days before the
event which occurred on 13/05/07. The fourth anomaly was
recorded on 18/06/07 followed by event 2.6 M (31.11N, 78.11E) 11
days before the event which occurred on 29/06/07. The first
negative anomaly was recorded on 09/07/07. This anomaly is
correlated with Uttarakashi earthquake of 5.0 M which occurred
on 22/07/07 13 days prior to the earthquake. Two anomalies were
recorded in the month of October on 02/10/07 and 04/10/07. These
anomalies are followed by 3.7 M event which occurred on 04/10/
07 in NW Himalayas. The seventh positive anomaly was recorded
on 19/01/08 followed by 2.8 M (32.11N, 76.71E) event which
occurred on 24/01/08. The second negative anomaly was recorded
on 23/02/08 which was followed by 2.2 M (31.01N, 78.11E) event a
week prior to the event i.e. on 01/03/08. After a gap of four
months last positive radon anomaly was observed on 08/06/08
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
A. Kumar et al. / Applied Radiation and Isotopes 67 (2009) 1904–1911 1909

2.2 M 3.2 M 5.0 M

200 3.7 M
Avg ± 2Std
2.6 M
Radon (kBq/m3)

Avg
2.7 M
100

0
Jan-07 Feb-07 Mar-07 Apr-07 May-07 Jun-07 Jul-07 Aug-07 Sep-07 Oct-07 Nov-07 Dec-07
Date

Fig. 6. Daily variation of radon concentration in soil with seismic events correlated at Palampur using BMC2 probe from 01/01/07 to 31/12/07.

80
2.8M Avg ± 2Std 2.2 M
Avg
Radon (kBq/m3)

2.6 M

40

0
Jan-08 Feb-08 Mar-08 Apr-08 May-08
Date

Fig. 7. Daily variation of radon concentration in soil with seismic events correlated at Palampur using BMC2 probe from 01/01/08 to 14/06/08.

Table 3
Correlation of radon anomalies recorded at Palampur in soil gas with seismic event.

Date of Date of Latitude Longitude Depth Magnitude Epicenter distance % Variation from Precursor time
anomaly event (1N) (1E) (km) (km) (Avg726) (days)

04/03/07 12/03/07 77.2 31.2 10.0 2.2 120 60 8

15/03/07 27/03/07 78.2 31.1 29.0 3.2 196 66.9 12
09/05/07 13/05/07 77.6 31.9 5.0 2.7 106 0.03 4
18/06/07 29/06/07 78.1 31.1 10.0 2.6 188 72.8 11
09/07/07a 22/07/07 78.2 33.0 15.0 5.0 188 30.5 13
02/10/07 04/10/07 76.2 32.6 4.5 3.7 62 9.5 2
04/10/07 14.7
19/01/08 24/01/08 76.7 32.1 11.0 2.8 19 5.6 5
23/02/08a 01/03/08 78.1 31.0 9.1 2.2 195 31.7 7
08/06/08 13/06/08 77.1 31.6 4.2 2.6 79 10.4 5

a
Negative anomaly.

which was followed by 2.6 M (31.61N, 77.11E) event five days prior
to the event.
The daily variation of radon concentration in groundwater at
Dharamshala from 01/01/07 to 31/12/07 is shown in Fig. 7. The
average value of radon for groundwater at Dharamshala for this
time window is reported to be 59 Bq/l with a standard deviation
(Std.) of 33 Bq/l. The percentage variation coefficient (Std./Avg.) of
radon is 55%. The daily variation of radon concentration in
groundwater at Dharamshala from 01/01/08 to 31/07/08 is shown
in Fig. 7. The average value of radon for groundwater at
Dharamshala for this time window is reported to be 20 Bq/l with
a standard deviation (Std.) of 9 Bq/l. The percentage variation
coefficient (Std./Avg.) of radon is 45%. Radon anomalies observed
in groundwater at Dharamshala are shown in Table 4. Six positive
anomalies and five negative anomalies were recorded. The first
negative radon anomaly in groundwater was recorded on 09/03/
07 followed by 2.2 M (31.21N, 77.21E) three days prior to the event
which occurred on 12/03/07. This event is also correlated with the
positive soil gas anomaly observed on 04/03/07. Two negative
radon anomalies were recorded on 23 and 28/ 06/07 followed by
event 2.6 M (31.11N, 78.11E) which occurred on 29/06/07. This
event is also correlated with the positive soil gas anomaly
observed on 18/06/07. The first positive radon anomaly was
recorded on 19/07/07 which was followed by Uttarakashi
earthquake of 5.0 M three days prior to the event which
occurred on 22/07/07. This event is also correlated with the soil
gas negative anomaly recorded on 09/07/07. Second positive
anomaly was observed on 01/02/08 followed by 2.4 M (31.21N,
78.01E) event occurred on 07/02/08. The fourth negative radon
anomaly was recorded on 21/02/08 which was followed by 2.2 M
(31.01N, 78.11E) event which occurred on 01/03/08. This event is
also correlated with the soil gas negative anomaly recorded on 23/
02/08. The third positive anomaly was recorded on 21/03/08
followed by 3.2 M (32.81N, 76.21E) event which occurred on
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
1910 A. Kumar et al. / Applied Radiation and Isotopes 67 (2009) 1904–1911

Table 4
Correlation of radon anomalies recorded at Dharamshala in ground water with seismic event.

Date of Date of Latitude Longitude Depth Magnitude Epicenter distance % Variation from Precursor time
anomaly event (1N) (1E) (km) (km) (Avg.726) (days)

09/03/07a 12/03/07 77.2 31.2 10.0 2.2 140 16.3 3

23/06/07a 29/06/07 78.1 31.1 10.0 2.6 210 88.8 6
28/06/07a 92.5 1
19/07/07 22/07/07 33.0 78.2 33.0 5.0 199 3.5 3
01/02/08 07/02/08 31.2 78.0 6.1 2.4 195 31.7 6
21/02/08a 01/03/08 78.1 31.0 9.1 2.2 216 62.5 9
21/03/08 24/03/08 32.8 76.2 16.8 3.2 67 7.3 3
22/04/08 25/04/08 31.5 77 6.0 2.2 108 2.6 3
24/04/08 15.8 1
17/05/08 22/05/08 77.1 31.3 5.9 2.5 125 10.5 5
19/06/08a 19/06/08 77.3 31.4 3.0 2.4 130 64.3 –

a
Negative anomaly.

190 5.0 M
Avg ± 2Std
Avg 2.2 M
2.6 M
Radon (Bq/l)

95

0
Jan-07 Feb-07 Mar-07 Apr-07 May-07 Jun-07 Jul-07 Aug-07 Sep-07 Oct-07 Nov-07 Dec-07
Date

Fig. 8. Daily variation of radon concentration in water with seismic events correlated at Dharamshala using RAD 7 from 01/01/07 to 31/12/07.

2.4 M 3.2 M
2.5M
60
2.2 M Avg ± 2Std
2.2 M

2.4 M Avg
Radon (Bq/l)

30

0
Jan-08 Feb-08 Mar-08 Apr-08 May-08 Jun-08 Jul-08
Date

Fig. 9. Daily variation of radon concentration in water at Dharamshala using RAD 7 from 01/01/08 to 31/07/08.

24/03/08. Two anomalies were recorded in the month of April on
22 and 24 which was followed by the event 2.2 M which occurred
on 25/04/08 in NW Himalayas. The fifth positive anomaly was
observed on 17/05/08 followed by 2.5 M (77.11N, 31.31E) event five
day prior to the event i.e. on 22/05/08. The fifth negative anomaly
was recorded on 19/06/08 which was followed by 2.4 M (77.31N,
31.41E) event which occurred on the same date in NW Himalayas
(Figs. 8 and 9).
In present studies the seismic events of magnitude r5 within
the epicenter distance of 250 km from the monitoring site (which
is within the radiosensitive range) are correlated. In the case of
spatially and temporally clustered earthquakes, the largest earth-
quake is assumed to precede the anomaly (Hartmann and Levy,
2005). The area under study reveals seismicity associated with
active faults and folds trending normal or oblique to the
Himalayan trend which leads to the under thrusting of the blocks.
The thrust planes which show regional extensions are frequently
intersected by transverse lineaments/faults which control the
neo-tectonic activity of the region and have resulted in the
contemporary morphological readjustment including the drai-
nage shifts, recurrence of slope failures along the main structural
line and its offshoots, etc. (Dhar et al., 2003). Therefore possibility
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
A. Kumar et al. / Applied Radiation and Isotopes 67 (2009) 1904–1911
of minor shocks has the potential to generate anomalies at long
distances and facilitate the activation/opening of the passageway
along the thrusts, lineaments/ faults for the carrier gas.
Some of the events simultaneously correlated with the soil gas
as well as groundwater anomaly but the time of anomaly is
different. For the major event of magnitude 5 which occurred on
22/07/07 negative anomaly is observed in soil gas and positive
anomaly is observed in groundwater. The time of anomaly is also
different in this case. This may be due to the different radon
transport phenomena in soil gas and groundwater. The radon
anomaly in groundwater and soil gas is assigned to development
of microcracks, fissure, and fracture due to the dilatancy prior to
earthquake. The positive anomaly in soil gas radon concentration
before an earthquake may be due to the strain buildup in the area
and negative radon anomaly may be due to the squeezing effect of
compressional stress in rock, which changes the porosity of soil at
a microscale (Ramola et al., 2008). The similar work is also in
progress for radon monitoring along with other geophysical
parameters in two more seismic zones of India and will be
reported in future.
5. Conclusions
Radon anomalies observed in soil gas and groundwater at
Kangra Valley respond favorably to the seismic events of magnitude
in the range 2–5 within the epicenter distance of 250 km that
occurred in the North West Himalaya. The radon exhalation is found
to depend upon the meteorological parameters.
The radon variations in soil gas and groundwater are entirely
different. This can be understood by the radon behavior observed
in soil gas and groundwater. In certain cases a large rise in radon
values in groundwater without any change in soil gas radon and
vice versa is observed. If the radon variation was the same there
should be one to one correspondence between soil gas and
groundwater radon anomalies.
Radon measurements carried out for earthquake precursory
studies seem to be a promising technique; however, a lot of data
are required and we need better models for the earthquake
preparation process.
Acknowledgments
The work has been carried out under the DST research project
entitled ‘‘Seismotectonic studies and health risk assessments in
the Himalayas with special emphasis on radon and helium
emission’’ no. DST/23(476)/SU/2004 and the financial support is
acknowledged. The thanks are due to the Director, Wadia Institute
of Himalayan Geology, Dehradoon and IMD, New Delhi, for
providing the seismic data.
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