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Earthquake lights: A review of observations and present theories

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John Derr at United States Geological Survey
John Derr
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EARTHQUAKE LIGHTS: A
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OF OBSERVATIOSS AND
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... Its existence has since been confirmed by several independent observations like the Planck measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), indicating that it accounts for about 68.3% of the gravitating energy content of the universe [2]. This is in addition to the older dark matter mystery [3] of a gravitationally attractive but invisible matter component constituting about 26.8% of the gravitating energy content of the universe. Only about 4.6% is in the form of visible baryonic matter. ...
... Such dent in can then be measured as slight drop in atomic energy levels and possible glow resulting from energy level transitions in atoms within the dent. Spectral analysis of Earth Quake Lights [25,26] can be of potential interest in this regard. ...
Dark Energy and Dark Matter from Extra Dimensional Symmetry as Different Manifestations of Vacuum Energy
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Dark energy and dark matter are described as different manifestations of vacuum energy in a new cyclic universe framework of Extra Dimensional Symmetry (EDS) that doubles large spatial dimensions with microscopic partners. In this testable framework, vacuum energy, constrained by a Planck density constraint, exists in a gravitationally dark state where actual gravitational constant Go = 0G. While a small repulsive component is constrained by an asymptotically evolving asymmetry to the active state where Go = 2G, some components in the inert state are enabled to gravitationally attract by neutrino induced gravitational constant with light and shear activated heavy components. Observational and experimental tests are briefly discussed.
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... The seismo-electromagnetic phenomena in the lower atmosphere include atmospheric electric field perturbations, earthquake lights [72,73], thermal anomalies [74][75][76], and so on. The anomaly of atmospheric electric fields, possibly associated with earthquakes, is an interesting seismo-electromagnetic phenomenon in the lower atmosphere. ...
... Recently, anomalous negative signals observed by ground-based atmospheric electric field instruments under fair weather conditions were considered a novel earthquake prediction approach [78]. One of the bestdocumented observations of earthquake lights is from Japanese earthquakes, where bright lights at the ground level were photographed from 20 to 200 m in diameter with a duration from 10 s to 2 min, restricted to mountain summits in a quartz-diorite faulted rock [73]. Luminous phenomena were reported, starting at approximately nine months before the 6 April 2009 earthquake and continuing until approximately five months after the shock [72]. ...
Recent Advances and Challenges in the Seismo-Electromagnetic Study: A Brief Review
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2022
Due to their potential application in earthquake forecasting, seismo-electromagnetic phenomena were intensively studied for several decades all over the world. At present, measurements from ground to space have accumulated a large amount of observation data, proving an excellent opportunity for seismo-electromagnetic study. Using a variety of analytical methods to examine past earthquake events, many electromagnetic changes associated with earthquakes have been independently reported, supporting the existence of pre-earthquake anomalies. This study aimed to give a brief review of the seismo-electromagnetic studies preceding earthquakes and to discuss possible ways for the application of seismo-electromagnetic signals at the current stage. In general, seismo-electromagnetic signals can be classified into electric and magnetic changes in the lithosphere and perturbations in the atmosphere. We start with seismo-electromagnetic research in the lithosphere, and then we review the studies in the lower atmosphere and upper atmosphere, including some latest topics that aroused intense scholarly interest. The potential mechanisms of seismo-electromagnetic phenomena are also discussed. It was found that although a number of statistical tests show that electromagnetic anomalies may contain predictive information for major earthquakes, with probability gains of approximately 2–6, it is still difficult to make use of seismo-electromagnetic signals efficiently in practice. To address this, finally, we put forward some preliminary ideas about how to apply the seismo-electromagnetic information in earthquake forecasting.
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... Such dent in can be observed as slight drop in atomic energy levels and possible glow resulting from energy level transitions in atoms within the dent. Spectral analysis of Earth Quake Lights [28,29] can be of potential interest in this regard. ...
Dark Energy and Dark Matter from Extra Dimensional Symmetry as Different Manifestations of Vacuum Energy
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  • Sep 2024
Dark energy and dark matter are described as different manifestations of vacuum energy in the cyclic universe framework of Extra Dimensional Symmetry (EDS). Motivated by the cosmological constant problem, EDS doubles large spatial dimensions with microscopic partners of opposite chirality and dimension number (gravitational charge). In this framework, the bulk of vacuum energy, constrained by a Planck density constraint, exists in a gravitationally inert state where actual gravitational constant is zero G. This is in contrast with the gravitationally active state where actual gravitational constant is two Gs with each of these two states corresponding to opposite particle chirality. Dark energy is described as a small repulsive component of vacuum energy constrained to the active state by an asymptotically evolving asymmetry. Dark matter is described as the attractive component of vacuum energy, enabled by neutrino induced gravitational constant which also serves as neutrino mass generation mechanism. While ordinary neutrino interaction with dark energy yields light neutrino mass, chiraly inverted neutrino interaction with dense vacuum energy yields heavy neutrino mass. Transition to sterile neutrino phase can be activated by the gravitational effect of shear stress on the microscopic partners of the visible spatial dimensions. Observational and experimental tests are briefly discussed.
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... To summarize the research conducted so far [7][8][9]: ...
Earthquake Lights Observed in Japan—Possible Underlying Mechanisms
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  • Jul 2024
In Japan, a country prone to earthquakes, numerous damaging earthquakes have been recorded throughout history, often accompanied by descriptions of mysterious earthquake lights (EQL), which may involve various mechanisms. In this article, the possible mechanisms for different types of EQL in 11 cases are reviewed among 21 selected earthquakes. These involve preseismic physicochemical variations in the geological structure of the fault in the lithosphere, which contains deep Earth gases such as radon, methane, and others, as a primary factor for EQL generation. Additionally, various seismic, atmospheric, hydrospheric, and ionospheric variations interact with each other, resulting in the visualization of characteristic anomalous phenomena, such as glowing or shining ground, mountains, offshore areas, and skies of various colors. These phenomena appear momentarily but can sometimes last for extended periods. Because EQL often appear just before an earthquake, their study might be significant for earthquake prediction. Additionally, EQL involving methane flames in the ground is an important research topic as it relates to public safety. Was what they witnessed paranormal?
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... They have been described for several earthquakes, but their existence remained disputed until recently when photographed and filmed observations became available. However, even if these observations are now established, their generation mechanism remains under debate (Derr, 1973;Lockner et al., 1983). Several respondents of the DYFI-50y report stormy weather and a very dark and "heavy" sky during the earthquake, with low clouds and strangely warm temperatures despite the winter season. ...
"Did You Feel It 50 Years Ago?" The 1969 M w 7.8 Cape Saint Vincent Earthquake
Article
  • Jan 2024
Over 50 years ago, on the 28th of February, 1969, at 3:40 AM a strong Mw 7.8 earthquake shook Portugal, in the southwestern tip of the European continent.The earthquake was felt widely across Morocco, NW Africa, and Iberia, SW Europe. The high magnitude of the earthquake combined with its proximity to the continent make it one of the most notable earthquakes of the 20th century in Europe. In 2019, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the 1969 earthquake, we realized that many citizens that experienced the 1969 earthquake were still alive and kept vivid memories of it. Thus, we set up a Did You Feel It (DYFI) questionnaire to record how citizens remember the earthquake. In this work, we describe the questionnaire and the data collected, the assessment of macroseismic intensities from the DYFI responses, a first analysis of free text replies, and we discuss the scientific insights that can be gained from this DYFI.
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... They have been described for several earthquakes, but their existence remained disputed until recently when photographed and filmed observations became available. However, even if these observations are now established, their generation mechanism remains under debate (Derr, 1973;Lockner et al., 1983). Several respondents of the DYFI-50y report stormy weather and a very dark and "heavy" sky during the earthquake, with low clouds and strangely warm temperatures despite the winter season. ...
Did You Feel It 50 Years Ago?” The 1969 Mw 7.8 Cape Saint Vincent Earthquake
Article
  • Oct 2023
  • SEISMOL RES LETT
On 28 February 1969, an Mw 7.8 earthquake occurred 180 km southwest of Cape Saint Vincent, Portugal. The earthquake was widely felt in mainland Portugal, Madeira Island, Spain, Morocco, and even as far as Andorra and France, reaching a maximum intensity of VIII in the south of Portugal. In 2019, on the 50th anniversary of the earthquake, there was launched online an international “Did You Feel It 50 Years Ago?” (DYFI-50y) survey, published in several languages, for citizens to report the observed effects of the earthquake. This initiative had two main purposes: first, to collect and preserve community observations of the earthquake; and second, to test the online implementation of the DYFI questionnaire at Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera for a damaging event. The DYFI-50y questionnaire was disseminated widely in the media, and a school project was launched for school-age children to collect reports from grandparents or other close elders. In total, more than 3000 reports were collected, a number that is close to the number of reports received for a recent M 6 earthquake in 2009. The collected community reports provide good coverage of mainland Portugal, particularly in Lisbon and Porto’s densely populated urban centers. In low-population areas, the limited results do not allow for robust statistics, and variability becomes significant. The distribution of intensities obtained shows a generally good agreement with other sources, indicating that the community reports are reliable and complement existing intensity maps for this earthquake, further clarifying some of the observed patterns. It was concluded that an online questionnaire is an efficient tool for gathering data several years after the earthquake.
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... Remote Sens. 2023,15, 5052 ...
Horizontal Magnetic Anomaly Accompanying the Co-Seismic Earthquake Light of the M7.3 Fukushima Earthquake of 16 March 2022: Phenomenon and Mechanism
Article
Full-text available
  • Oct 2023
A horizontal magnetic disturbance accompanying the co-seismic earthquake light (EQL) of the M7.3 Fukushima earthquake of 16 March 2022 was detected by a fluxgate magnetometer installed at the KAK station, which is 270 km south of the EQL and 210 km west of the epicenter. The instantaneous change of the declination component of the geomagnetic field reached about 1.7″, much exceeding the threshold of three-fold error (0.72″). Considering the direction information of the geomagnetic data, the horizontal magnetic disturbance vector was further analyzed, which manifested the normal of the horizontal magnetic disturbance vector passing through the position of the EQL. Combined with the experimental results of pressure-simulated rock current (PSRC), the mechanism of the EQL and the geomagnetic anomaly was proposed to interpret the spatiotemporal correlation between the EQL and the horizontal magnetic disturbance vector, which should be a manifest of the induced magnetic horizontal vector (IMHV), attributed to the upward seismic PSRC. Different from previous precursor studies on geomagnetic disturbance on the power spectrum, vertical component, or polarization, this paper focuses on the direction information of the horizontal magnetic disturbance vector, which could be further applied to locate potential seismogenic zones based on the IMHVs observed by multiple geomagnetic stations.
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New Contributions to Understanding Earthquake Light, from the 2023 Turkish Earthquakes
Chapter
  • Apr 2024
An analysis with many photos of co-seismic earthquake light from the Turkish earthquakes in early 2023
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Ontological Beliefs and Hunter–Gatherer Ritual Landscapes: Native Californian Examples
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2024
Landscapes are socially produced and reproduced spaces. This is easily recognizable for large-scale urban groups with built environments that dominate living places. But it also pertains to all types of societies and cultures, even small-scale hunter–gatherers, once the ontological beliefs structuring landscape perception and use are acknowledged. The foragers of south–central and southern California and the Great Basin illustrate this fact. They maintained a widely shared ontological perspective supported by a fundamental cognitive postulate. This is that supernatural power, the principle causative agent in the universe, was differentially distributed among individuals and places. The distribution of power, revealed by certain geomorphological features and natural events, structured their perceptions of landscape. These perceptions were expressed in ritual and symbolism, including petroglyphs and pictographs as durable manifestations of ceremonies on the landscape. The ontological relationship between power and landscape explains a longstanding question in hunter–gatherer archaeology: Why were rock writing sites created at specific locations? It also explains another equally significant but rarely considered and related problem: Why do some localities have massive quantities of rock writings that dwarf most other sites? The landscape symbolism of and the placement of sites by Native Californian and Great Basin tribes is explained by reference to their shared ontological beliefs, illustrating how they structured their ritual practices and archaeological record.
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