Features of the Atmospheric Temperature Variations Prior to Strong Earthquakes in Kamchatka and Their Relation to the Fluxes of Outgoing Infrared Radiation

Abstract

The temperature variations of the near-surface atmosphere in Kamchatka at Paratunka observatory and fluxes of outgoing infrared radiation prior to strong Kuril earthquakes (November 15, 2006, M = 8.3; January 13, 2007, M = 8.1) have been analyzed. It is shown that the radiation fluxes at ground level, as measured on satellites above the epicenter of earthquakes and above a remote observatory, coincide with each other, both in magnitude and in the feature of their time variations. The temperature measured directly at the observatory and the temperature at surface level estimated from satellite observations differ in magnitude, but they coincide in the feature of their time variations. The detected temperature increase (despite the negative regular trend at this time of year) is caused by the appearance of an additional heat source entering in the nearsurface atmosphere. This result, together with the studies of variations of various geophysical data before strong earthquakes performed earlier in Kamchatka, led to the conclusion that the additional heat source is in the Earth’s crust.