NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Satellite IR Thermal Measurements Prior to the September 2004 Earthquakes in Central CaliforniaWe present and discuss observed variations in thermal transients and radiation fields prior to the earthquakes of September 18 near Bodie (M5.5) and September 28,2004 near Parkfield(M6.0) in California. Previous analysis of earthquake events have indicated the presence of a thermal anomaly, where temperatures increased or did not return to its usual nighttime value. The procedures used in our work is to analyze weather satellite data taken at night and to record the general condition where the ground cools after sunset. Two days before the Bodie earthquake lower temperature radiation was observed by the NOAA/AVHRR satellite. This occurred when the entire region was relatively cloud-free. IR land surface nighttime temperature from the MODIS instrument rose to +4 C in a 100 km radius around the Bodie epicenter. The thermal transient field recorded by MODIS in the vicinity of Parkfield, also with a cloud free environment, was around +l C and it is significantly smaller than the Parkfield epicenter, however, for that period showed a steady increase 4 days prior to the earthquake and a significant drop of the night before the quake. Geosynchronous weather satellite thermal IR measurements taken every half hour from sunset to dawn, were also recorded for 10 days prior to the Parkfield event and 5 days after as well as the day of the quake. To establish a baseline we also obtained GOES data for the same Julian sets were then used to systematically observe and record any thermal anomaly prior to the events that deviated from the baseline. Our recent results support the hypothesis of a possible relationship between an thermodynamic processes produced by increasing tectonic stress in the Earth's crust and a subsequent electro-chemical interaction between this crust and the atmosphere/ionosphere.
Document ID
20050147479
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Ouzounov, D.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Logan, T.
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Taylor, Patrick
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2004
Subject Category
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Meeting Information
Meeting: 2004 Fall AGU Meeting
Location: San Francisco, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: December 13, 2004
End Date: December 17, 2004
Sponsors: American Geophysical Union
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available