Ground water radon anomalies in Bodrum Peninsula

Abstract

Bodrum Peninsula is located between Hellenic Trench in the west and Gökova Fault Zone in the east which is affected by hundreds of earthquakes every year. Because of its active environment is allowed to monitor tracers/precursors continuously to analyse natural processes. This study focused on the determination of ground water radon (222Rn) concentrations in the Bodrum Peninsula in terms of seismic activities. Radon levels of ten ground water wells were measured periodically throughout the peninsula and these wells were divided into two groups according to the number of earthquakes they are exposed. Radon variations in second group stations are fairly significant as a result of high number of earthquakes. In these stations, radon continuously increased before the seismic storm and then decreased step by step. The results indicated that radon variations in ground waters of Bodrum Peninsula can be a good indicator for seismic storms instead of one specific event.

Evidence for periodic influences on radon time series was obtained from the active Manisa Fault Zone, Western Anatolia Extensional Province, Turkey

“…Radon ( 222 Rn) exists at varying activity concentrations in geological environments, and it is a unique ultra-trace component for tracking geodynamic events. The migration of radon from rock, soil, and groundwater to the atmosphere has been examined as a tool for monitoring seismic and volcanic activity [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15].…”

Degassing of soil gas radon and its implication to fault activity in the western margin of the Ordos Block, China

“…Notably, Rn gas anomalies have been observed prior to numerous seismic events, indicating their potential as precursors (e.g., Igarashi et al, 1995;Martinelli, 2020;Ülküm et al, 2018;Zhou et al, 2016).…”

“…Field measurements and monitoring have further demonstrated that the spatial and temporal variations of soil gas Rn concentrations and fluxes in active fault zones are closely linked to fault activity (Fu et al., 2017; Wang et al., 2014; Yang et al., 2018). Notably, Rn gas anomalies have been observed prior to numerous seismic events, indicating their potential as precursors (e.g., Igarashi et al., 1995; Martinelli, 2020; Ülküm et al., 2018; Zhou et al., 2016).…”