Friedemann Freund

NASA

The first organisms on the young Earth, just 1-1.5 billion year old, were likely chemolithoautotrophic anaerobes, thriving in an anoxic world rich in water, CO2 and N2. Until the accumulation of O2 in the atmosphere, it is generally assumed that life was exempted from the oxidative stress that reactive oxygen species (ROS) impose on hydrocarbon–bas...

This study statistically examines the role of atmospheric blocking as a precursor of major seismic events. Atmospheric blocking archive and earthquake databases for the Middle East region are compiled for 2000–2013. Correlations between atmospheric blocking events and seismicity are examined based on defined seismo-climatic index (SCI) based on var...

Earthquake lights (EQLs) have long been considered mysterious natural phenomena, for which no good physical explanation seemed to be available. Crucial to understanding EQLs, in particular the intense flashes of light bursting out of the ground while S waves propagate, is the presence of peroxy defects in igneous rocks, in particular in gabbroic ro...

The first organisms on the early Earth were chemolithoautotrophic anaerobes, thriving in an anoxic world rich in water, CO2 and N2. Until the accumulation of O2 in the atmosphere, it is generally assumed that life was relieved from the oxidative stress of reactive O2 species (ROS). Therefore, it seems paradoxical that even the earliest lifeforms co...

We review changes in groundwater chemistry as precursory signs for earthquakes.In particular we discuss pH, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), and electrical conductivity, dissolved gases in relation to their significance for earthquake prediction or forecasting. These parameters are widely believed to vary in response to seismic and pre-seismic activit...

Forecasting earthquakes implies that there are time-varying processes, which depend on the changing conditions deep in the Earth's crust prior to major seismic activity. These processes may be linearly or non-linearly correlated. In seismology, the research has traditionally focused on mechanical variables, including precursory ground deformation (...

Clathrate Hydrates can be formed under high vacuum conditions by annealing vapor-deposited amorphous ices of the appropriate composition. When astrophysically significant H 2 O:CH 3 OH ices are deposited and annealed, Type II Clathrate Hydrates are formed which can hold up to 6 mole % large guest molecules such as methanol and 12 mole % small guest...

In the present study, a number of atmospheric and some ionospheric anomalies are analyzed, which were recorded prior to the Mw 8.3 Illapel earthquake of September 16, 2015. This very large earthquake occurred in Central Chile, close to the coast, as the result of thrust faulting on the interface between the Nazca Plate and South American continent....

In the present study, a number of atmospheric and some ionospheric anomalies are analyzed, which were recorded prior to the Mw 8.3 Illapel earthquake of September 16, 2015. This very large earthquake occurred in Central Chile, close to the coast, as the result of thrust faulting on the interface between the Nazca Plate and South American continent....

Mechanical action, sometimes even gentle mechanical action such as rubbing and tumbling, can produce triboluminescence. The emitted light often comes from within the bulk. The question then arises: How is the energy transferred from the surface, where the mechanical action occurs, into the bulk? Key to understand this process lies with the peroxy d...

Chemical analysis of groundwater samples collected from a borehole at Hafralækur, northern Iceland from October 2008 to June 2015 revealed 1) a long-term decrease in concentration of Si and Na and 2) an abrupt increase in concentration of Na before each of two consecutive M > 5 earthquakes which occurred in 2012 and 2013, both 76 km from Hafralækur...

We have measured the quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS) of an electrohydrodynamic liquid bridge formed between two beakers of pure water when a high voltage is applied, a set-up allowing to investigate water under high-voltage without high currents. From this experiment two proton populations were distinguished: one consisting of protons stron...

A semiconductor model of rocks is shown to describe unipolar magnetic pulses, a phenomenon that has been observed prior to earthquakes. These pulses are suspected to be generated deep in the Earth's crust, in and around the hypocentral volume, days or even weeks before earthquakes. Their extremely long wavelength allows them to pass through kilomet...

Dielectric insulators are used in a variety of laboratory settings when performing experiments in rock mechanics, petrology, and electromagnetic studies of rocks in the fields of geophysics, material science, and civil engineering. These components may be used to electrically isolate geological samples from the experimental equipment, to perform a...

Abstract: Dielectric insulators are used in a variety of laboratory settings when performing experiments in rock mechanics, petrology, and electromagnetic studies of rocks in the fields of geophysics, material science, and civil engineering. These components may be used to electrically isolate geological samples from the experimental equipment, to...

Stress-dependent voltage offsets from polymer insulators used in rock mechanics and material testing

http://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/abscicon2015/eposter/7237.pdf

Models of lunar and martian magnetism need to explain the magnetic signatures observed in apparent association with impact structures. Until now most models start from the premise that the moon and Mars may have had early, short-lived dynamos and that impacts caused widespread demagnetization. We show that terrestrial igneous rocks, when subjected...

Though two-thirds of Earth's surface is covered by oceans, measurements of hydroxyl concentrations in upper mantle minerals, specifically in olivine, reportedly provide surprisingly low values. This has been interpreted to mean that there is little dissolved H2O in the Earth's mantle. By inference , when Earth formed, there might not have been able...

During earthquake preparation geophysical processes occur over varying temporal and spatial scales, some leaving their mark on the surface environment, on various biota, and even affecting the ionosphere. Reports on pre-seismic changes in animal behaviour have been greeted with scepticism by the scientific community due to the necessarily anecdotal...

Though ubiquitous in minerals of igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks, peroxy defects have been widely overlooked in the past. The charge carriers of interest are positive holes, chemically equivalent to O$^-$ in a matrix of O$^{2-}$, physically defect electrons in the O$^{2-}$ sublattice, highly mobile, able to propagate fast and far. O$^-$ ar...

Understanding the electrical properties of rocks is of fundamental interest. We report on currents generated when stresses are applied. Loading the center of gabbro tiles, 30x30x0.9 cm$^3$, across a 5 cm diameter piston, leads to positive currents flowing from the center to the unstressed edges. Changing the constant rate of loading over 5 orders o...

Anomalous thermal infrared (TIR) emissions have been widely detected by satellite sensors prior to major earthquakes. A recent processing technique for data from geostationary satellites, here demonstrated for the case of the April 06, 2009 magnitude 6.3 L'Aquila earthquake, allows us to identify areas of enhanced TIR emission around the epicentral...

Various possiblities for a distributed magnetometer network are considered. We discuss strategies such as croudsourcing smartphone magnetometer data, the use of trees as magnetometers, and performing interferometry using magnetometer arrays to synthesize the magnetometers into the world's largest telescope. Geophysical and other applications of suc...

Simple Summary Recent reports from several countries such as China, Italy and Japan support the existence of strange animal behaviour before strong earthquakes. However, the stimuli to which animals are sensitive preceding seismic activity are still not completely understood. Here we report the case of a herd of cows (reported by an entire village)...

Anomalous thermal infrared (TIR) emissions have widely been detected by satellite sensors before the major earthquakes. A recent processing technique for geostationary thermal data, developed for the case of the 2009 April 6, magnitude 6.3 L’Aquila earthquake, makes it possible to identify areas of enhanced TIR emissions around the epicentral regio...

A semiconductor model of rocks is shown to describe unipolar magnetic pulses, a phenomenon that has been observed prior to earthquakes. These pulses are observable because their extremely long wavelength allows them to pass through the Earth's crust. Interestingly, the source of these pulses may be triangulated to pinpoint locations where stress is...

When Mino was barely three, I started to take him with me to my laboratory at the University of Göttingen in Germany. It was in the old Chemistry building, dating back to the late 1700s, next to the tree-filled park that encircles the old town. The ceilings were high, the wooden floor planks dark from thousand chemicals spilled by generations of st...

It is not easy to write about one’s own son who has passed away in the prime of his life. Mino was such an extraordinary person that even we as parents, Hisako and I, have to admit that we did not grasp the scope of his personality and the range of his abilities. We failed to recognize his full potential. Therefore we are now left with a nagging fe...

The presentations at this NASA-hosted Symposium in honor of Mino Freund will touch upon the fields, to which his prolific mind has made significant contributions. These include low temperature physics, cosmology, and nanotechnology with its wide-ranging applicability to material science, neuroscience, Earth sciences and satellite technology. To lea...

Most destructive earthquakes nucleate at between 5–7 km and about 35–40 km depth. Before earthquakes, rocks are subjected to increasing stress. Not every stress increase leads to rupture. To understand pre-earthquake phenomena we note that igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks contain defects which, upon stressing, release defect electrons in th...

Earthquakes occur when tectonic stresses build up deep in the Earth before catastrophic rupture. During the build-up of stress, processes that occur in the crustal rocks lead to the activation of highly mobile electronic charge carriers. These charge carriers are able to flow out of the stressed rock volume into surrounding rocks. Such outflow cons...

Ultralow frequency (ULF) and extremely low frequency (ELF) electromagnetic (EM) radiation is part of the natural environment. Prior to major earthquakes the local ULF and global ELF radiation field is often markedly perturbed. This has detrimental effects on living organisms. We are studying the mechanism of these effects on the biochemical, cellul...

Earthquakes occur when tectonic stresses build up deep in the Earth and reach the threshold of catastrophic rupture. During the build-up of stress, long before rupture, processes occur in the Earth crust that lead to the activation of highly mobile electronic charge carriers. One remarkable property of these charge carriers is that they are able t...

Unusual behaviour of domestic cattle before earthquakes has been reported for centuries, and often relates to cattle becoming excited, vocal, aggressive or attempting to break free of tethers and restraints. Cattle have also been reported to move to higher or lower ground before earthquakes. Here, we report unusual movements of domestic cows 2 days...

Suggestions that substantial charge generation occurs in the Earth's crust as a result of tectonic loading and variations in this loading prior to earthquakes have been controversial because the presence of fluids in crustal materials is thought to preclude the storing of charge. A series of laboratory experiments was set up to investigate the char...

Suggestions that substantial charge generation occurs in the Earth's crust as a result of tectonic loading and variations in this loading prior to earthquakes have been controversial because the presence of fluids in crustal materials is thought to preclude the storing of charge. A series of laboratory experiments was set up to investigate the char...

We report on the infrared emission of aqueous bridges under the application of high dc voltage ('floating water bridge') over the range between 400 and 2500 cm −1 (4.0–10.3 µm). Comparison with bulk water of the same temperature reveals an additional broad peak at ∼2200 cm −1 as well as water vapour emission lines. Two complementary explanations ar...

We fully agree with Dr. Vassiliki Katsika-Tsigourakou that there is more than one possible explanation for the wide range of electromagnetic (EM) field bioeffects reported in the literature. In order to generate EM fields electric currents need to flow that oscillate. Currents that flow through the ground also generate electrical potentials. Such p...

When a high-voltage direct-current is applied to two beakers filled with water, a horizontal electrohydrodynamic (EHD) bridge forms between the two beakers. In this work we study the transport and behavior of bacterial cells added to an EHD bridge set-up. Organisms were added to one or to both beakers, and the transport of the cells through the bri...

We performed chemical analyses of commercially bottled spring water (EREK Spring water) emanating from a location less than 20 kilometer from the epicenter of the Mw = 7.2 Van Earthquake of October 23rd 2011. The available water samples cover the period from September 8th 2011 to January 11th 2012. The pre-earthquake anomaly is characterized by a s...

Seismologists use earthquakes as “fl ash lights” to illuminate the interior of the Earth. Information extracted from the propagation of seismic waves has produced great insights into the hidden structure of our dynamic planet. Unfortunately, earthquakes are erratic “fl ash lights” that seem to go off at unpredicted times and at unpredicted places....

Paradoxically, the dense solid state of magmatic minerals is a medium, in which organic synthesis can take place. The reason is that gas-fluid components such as H2O, CO/CO2/N2 and H2S are omnipresent in terrestrial magmatic environments. Any silicate mineral that crystallizes from such magmas will incorporate small quantities of the fluid-phase co...

As the Earth turns, quasi-stationary electrical currents on the order of >100,000 amps that circulate in the ionosphere above the sunlit side of the Earth induce electric currents into the oceans and the Earth's crust. The depth of penetration is a function of the frequency and of the attenuation in the overlying electric conductive medium. The cro...

When igneous or high-grade metamorphic rocks are subjected to deviatoric stresses, dormant defects existing in the matrix of common rock-forming minerals become activated releasing mobile positive hole charge carriers. These defects consist of pairs of oxygen anions in the 1- valence state, e.g. peroxy links such as O3Si-OO-SiO3. When the peroxy bo...

When igneous or high-grade metamorphic rocks are subjected to deviatoric stresses, dormant defects in the matrix of common rock-forming minerals become activated. These defects consist of pairs of oxygen anions in the 1- valence state, e.g. peroxy links such as O3Si-OO-SiO3. When a peroxy bond breaks, O3Si-O:O-SiO3, an electron is transferred from...

When load is applied to igneous or high-grade metamorphic rocks, trapped electron vacancy defects are activated and become mobile positive-hole charge carriers. These mobile charge carriers repel each other through Coulomb interactions and move outward from the stressed region. As large numbers of positive-holes reach the surface of the rock, this...

Prior to large earthquakes the Earth sends out transient signals, sometimes strong, more often subtle and fleeting. These signals may consist of local magnetic field variations, electromagnetic emissions over a wide range of frequencies, a variety of atmospheric and ionospheric phenomena. Great uncertainty exists as to the nature of the processes t...

Prior to major earthquakes many changes in the environment have been documented. Though often subtle and fleeting, these changes are noticeable at the land surface, in water, in the air, and in the ionosphere. Key to understanding these diverse pre-earthquake phenomena has been the discovery that, when tectonic stresses build up in the Earth's crus...

Seismicity in the Earth's crust exhibits a remarkable and systematic diurnal and seasonal dependence (e.g. Con-rad, 1932; Duma & Vilardo, 1998; Duma & Ruzhin, 2002; Lipovics, 2005; Schekotov et al., 2005). Since such a correlation can only be caused by the sun's activity, we are obviously faced here with a powerful solar-terrestrial coupling mechan...

Statistical analysis of the frequency of earthquakes in major seismogenic regions of the world indicates a systematic diurnal and seasonal dependence (e. Rabeh 2010). Only the sun can create such patterns. Essential information is provided by data collected routinely at geomagnetic observatories: the regular sun-induced daily and seasonal magnetic...

Widely reported ionospheric perturbations above epicentral regions prior to major earthquakes suggest an upward coupling, reaching from the ground to the ionosphere [1]. Conversely, seismic activity has been shown to be correlated to the Sq values and, hence, to the plasma density in the ionosphere, which is driven by the sun's activity [2]. This s...

During geomagnetic storms coronal mass ejection (CME) often arrive at the Earth within a few minutes. The CME carry with them, among other things, rapid magnetic field changes deltaB/deltat. In the crust, deltaB/deltat couples to the magnetic moments of paramagnetic ions, flipping their electron spins and giving rise to an Einstein de-Haas force [1...

Key to the acceptance of plate tectonics in the 1960s was the discovery of stripes of ocean floor, parallel to mid-ocean ridges that exhibit opposite remanent magnetization. We have now demonstrated a systematic asymmetry in the magnitude of the remanent magnetization on the East and West sides of North-South trending mid-ocean ridges. In the case...

Dormant electronic charge carriers exist in rocks. They ``wake up'' when stresses are applied: electrons e' and positive holes, h., the latter being defect electrons in the oxygen anion sublattice of minerals [1, 2]. The h. can flow out of the stressed subvolume. They can spread into the unstressed surrounding, turning the rocks into p-type semicon...

Being able to recognize earthquakes before they strike has been an elusive goal all along, but this capacity is slowly coming into focus, thanks to advances in elucidating the physics underlying a wide range of pre-earthquake phenomena. Here we present an architecture for earthquake forecasting on the scale of days to weeks, possibly months or even...

Thermal Infrared (TIR) anomalies seen in night-time satellite images are thought to be a promising pre-earthquake signature, driven by the build-up of stress in the crust [1]. The reported radiative surface temperature increase is on the order of 2-6°C, occasionally higher. The cause of this effect is still debated. To produce TIR anomalies in the...

The DUSEL facility will enable unique opportunities for field experiments that would otherwise not be possible at surface facilities (Lesko, K.T., TAUP, 2007). In particular, tiltmeters that have been deployed have provided insight to manmade and natural ground motion at Fermilabs and the DUSEL facility. It is proposed to augment the existing hydro...