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°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
Cumulative stress energy in an earthquake preparation zone under operating tectonic force manifests various observable signs of the impending earthquake, i.e., earthquake precursors. This energy transformation may result in enhanced transient thermal infrared (TIR) emission, which can be detected through satellites equipped with thermal sensors like AVHRR (NOAA), MODIS (Terra/Aqua). This paper presents observations made using NOAA-AVHRR data-derived land surface temperature (LST) and outgoing long-wave radiation (OLR) values in case of two moderate earthquakes (22 July 2007, Yamnotri earthquake, India and 27 October 2004, Vrancea earthquake, Romania) using anomalous TIR signals as reflected in LST rise and high OLR values can be seen conspicuously and following similar growth pattern spatially and temporally. In both the cases, data analysis revealed a transient thermal infrared rise in LST ranging 5-10°C around epicentral areas. The thermal anomalies started developing about 7-8 days prior to the main event depending upon the magnitude and focal depth and disappeared after the main shock. Similarly, the OLR values *30-45 W/m 2 higher than the normal were observed 7-8 days prior to the main event. The rise in LST can be attributed to enhanced greenhouse gas emission from the squeezed rock pore spaces and/or to the activation of p-holes in stressed rock volume and their further recombination at rock-air interface. OLR is temperature and humidity dependent, and any change in these variables may be responsible for anomalous OLR values.
Almost every year in the winter months (December-February), the vast IndoGangetic Plain south of the Himalaya is affected by dense fog. This fog is considered as radiational fog, and sometime it becomes smog (when it mixes with smoke). The typical meteorological, topographic and increasing pollution conditions over the Indo-Gangetic Plain are perhaps the common contributing factors for fog formation. In the present study, the North Indian fog has been successfully mapped and analysed using NOAA-AVHRR satellite data. In the winter seasons of 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08, the fog-affected area has been found to cover about 575,800 km 2 , 594,100 km 2 and 478,000 km 2 , respectively. Less fog in 2007-08 may be the consequence of high fluctuations in the meteorological parameters like temperature, relative humidity and wind speed as related to the prevailing synoptic regime for that season. The dissipation and migration pattern of fog in the study area has also been interpreted on the basis of the analysis of both meteorological and satellite data. Further analysis of the fog-affected area allowed identifying more fog-prone regions. Analysis of past fog-affected days and corresponding meteorological conditions enabled us to identify favourable conditions for fog formation viz. air temperature 3-13°C, relative humidity [87%, wind speed \2 m/s and elevation \300 m. Based on the observations of past fog formation and corresponding governing parameters, fog for few selected days could be predicted in hind-sight and later verified with NOAA images.
Prior to the occurrence of an earthquake, the region undergoes intensive physiochemical changes. Such changes trigger degassing charge generation leading to positive change in the thermal regime and consequently creation of an earthquake preparation zone. These changes in thermal regime can be detected by the thermal sensors onboard various polar orbiting satellites. Recent researches have demonstrated that thermal infrared sensors onboard satellites (e.g., NOAA-AVHRR and Terra/Aqua-MODIS) can detect temporal transient thermal infrared anomalies prior to an earthquake. The paper presents satellite-based thermal observations associated with
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