Saraf, AK, Rawat, V, Banerjee, P, Choudhury, S, Panda, SK, Dasgupta, S, Das, JD (2008). Satellite detection of earthquake thermal infrared precursors in Iran. NATURAL HAZARDS, 47(1), 119-135.

Abstract
Stress accumulated in rocks in tectonically active areas may manifest itself as electromagnetic radiation emission and temperature variation through a process of energy transformation. Land surface temperature (LST) changes before an impending earthquake can be detected with thermal infrared (TIR) sensors such as NOAA-AVHRR, Terra/Aqua-MODIS, etc. TIR anomalies produced by 10 recent earthquakes in Iran during the period of Jun 2002-Jun 2006 in the tectonically active belt have been studied using pre- and post-earthquake NOAA-AVHRR datasets. Data analysis revealed a transient TIR rise in LST ranging 2-13 degrees C in and around epicentral areas. The thermal anomalies started developing about 1-10 days prior to the main event depending upon the magnitude and focal depth, and disappeared after the main shock. In the case of moderate earthquakes (< 6 magnitude) a dual thermal peak instead of the single rise has been observed. This may lead us to understand that perhaps pre-event sporadic release of energy from stressed rocks leads to a reduction in magnitude of the main shock. This TIR temperature increment prior to an impending earthquake can be attributed to degassing from rocks under stress or to p-hole activation in the stressed rock volume and their further recombination at the rock-air interface. A precise correlation of LST maps of Bam and Zarand with InSAR-generated deformation maps also provides evidence that the thermal anomaly is a ground-related phenomenon, not an atmospheric one.

DOI:
10.1007/s11069-007-9201-7

ISSN:
0921-030X