Magnetic Pulses Can Predict Earthquakes

Japan is still Recovering from an Earthquake 3 Years Ago that Triggered a Tsunami of Devastation Followed by a Nuclear Meltdown. We're Working on Better Forecast Scenarios, as well as, Turning to Crowdsourcing to Get Data about Specific Earthquakes but, Wouldn’t it be Better if we Could actually Predict When and Where they’ll Happen ? That Might Now be Possible if Friedemann Freund, a Crystallographer at San Jose State University in California, is Correct: he States that Earthquakes are Preceded by a Small Series of Pulses in the Earth’s Magnetic Field. If we Could Detect these Signals Accurately, we Can Predict Earthquakes. After Studying Data about Several Earthquakes, Freund and his Team Noticed a Pattern. Before Each Quake, Magnetic Pulses Near the Epicenters Became More Active: they were Stronger and Closer Together. For Example, Several Weeks before a Magnitude 5.4 Earthquake Struck just Outside San Jose, Scientific Instruments Picked Up a Series of Magnetic Pulses unlike Anything Detected before. Shortly before the Earthquake, those Pulses Quickened. This also Happened with 2 Earthquakes in Peru.


So What Causes these Magnetic Pulses ? Freund has a Theory, which he Demonstrated in a Lab, Involving his Area of Expertise in Crystallography. Rocks Have Small Crystals in them with Bonded Oxygen Molecules. When the Sides of a Fault Line Begin to Rub Together, the Rocks between them Get Squeezed and these Oxygen Bonds Break and Release Electrons with a Negative Charge. This Creates an Electrical Disturbance that Creates Magnetic Pulses and as the Rocks Get Squeezed More, the Disturbance and Pulses Increase. There are Critics of Freund’s Concepts, though. Some Scientists Think these Pulses Might be Triggered by Lightning. Freund Argues that, the Length of Some of the Pulses before the Earthquakes he Studied Rule that out, along with the Fact that, the Strongest Pulses were Nearest to the Earthquakes’ Epicenters. Other Scientists Point Out that, the Pulses could be Inadvertently Man-Made. Freund Submitted his Research Paper for Review by Other Scientists so, Only Time will Tell if he’s Correct. However, Even if we Can Predict Earthquakes Using these Magnetic Pulses, we’ll Have to Focus Not on the Pulses Themselves but rather, on their Pattern, Size and Duration. If the Concept Holds Up, Think of the Property and Lives that Might be Saved with a Little Advance Warning.




Info Source:

http://news.sciencemag.org/earth/2014/06/could-pulses-earths-magnetic-field-forecast-earthquakes?rss=1