radon and earthquakes
2011-May-27, Friday 08:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mellowtiggerWhen stars die and explode into a supernova, they create elements that are "heavy". All of the elements in the universe that are heavier than lead were created this way, in the death throes of a depleted star. Uranium 238 is one of those elements. Fast forward beyond the deaths of many old stars to the birth of our own solar system. Random nearby material (including U-238 from previous supernovas) gets swept together by gravity to form our sun and planets. As the ball of dust called Earth comes together, the U-238 gets locked into the planet with everything else. Over geologic timescales, the U-238 slowly decays. Decay produces heat, which is why we use the process in nuclear fission reactors. The heat plays its own small part in keeping our planet warm over the geologic ages. The decay also produces the element radon.
Radon forms as a gas. It leaks upward through cracks in the crust, but sometimes it gets trapped underneath hard layers of stone. If the radon reaches the surface, it can make its way through the concrete slab of your basement into the open air. Radon is a noble gas so it's rather harmless by itself. Breathing it is still very dangerous, however, because radon has a half-life of only 3.8 days. If it's in your body when it finally decays, it makes bad things happen. It releases radiation during the decay which will damage your cells, and it decays into other elements that are also radioactive and/or poisonous. This danger is why we have radon detectors for use in basements with poor ventilation.
Scientists may have found another interaction of radon gas. It seems that about 3 days before an earthquake, new cracks form in the earth's crust that allow previously trapped radon gas to escape. When large amounts of gas reach the atmosphere, they produce extra heat and ionization during their decay process (again, remember the half-life of only 3.8 days). This heat and ionization is detectable. Some researchers claim they can match these anomalous increases to the 2008 earthquake in China, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and the 2011 earthquake in Japan. Not every radon-induced atmospheric change results in an earthquake, and not every earthquake becomes a massive disaster. Still, though, it may be possible soon to have "earthquake watch" alerts similiar to "tornado watch" alerts, letting people know that environmental conditions favor the possibility of a traumatic event.
Cool stuff!
Radon forms as a gas. It leaks upward through cracks in the crust, but sometimes it gets trapped underneath hard layers of stone. If the radon reaches the surface, it can make its way through the concrete slab of your basement into the open air. Radon is a noble gas so it's rather harmless by itself. Breathing it is still very dangerous, however, because radon has a half-life of only 3.8 days. If it's in your body when it finally decays, it makes bad things happen. It releases radiation during the decay which will damage your cells, and it decays into other elements that are also radioactive and/or poisonous. This danger is why we have radon detectors for use in basements with poor ventilation.
Scientists may have found another interaction of radon gas. It seems that about 3 days before an earthquake, new cracks form in the earth's crust that allow previously trapped radon gas to escape. When large amounts of gas reach the atmosphere, they produce extra heat and ionization during their decay process (again, remember the half-life of only 3.8 days). This heat and ionization is detectable. Some researchers claim they can match these anomalous increases to the 2008 earthquake in China, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and the 2011 earthquake in Japan. Not every radon-induced atmospheric change results in an earthquake, and not every earthquake becomes a massive disaster. Still, though, it may be possible soon to have "earthquake watch" alerts similiar to "tornado watch" alerts, letting people know that environmental conditions favor the possibility of a traumatic event.
Cool stuff!