Terrestrial Seismic Activity and Neutrons from the Surface of the Earth Associated with Lunar and Solar Tides

Аннотация

drastic increase in the flux of thermal neutrons of secondary cosmic radiation coming from the Earth was observed in the Pamir Mountains during the solar eclipse of July 22, 1990. In the following years, such phenomena were observed on each new moon and each full moon, when lunar and solar tides combine to produce an exceptionally high resultant tide. Tidal forces may serve as a trigger for the release of the deepearth seismic energy in a certain region. This directed our attention to the search for a temporal correlation between earthquakes and new and full moons, which may help identify a new type of seismic activity precursor. Such a correlation was found in the circum-Pacific belt and the adjacent regions at latitudes above 40° N and 10° S. The results of daytime measurements of the thermal neutron flux from the surface of the Earth in the Western Pamirs (Moskvin Glade, 4200 m above sea level) on August 1–14, 1994, are reported in the present study. Since these days were quiet in terms of weather and heliophysical and geophysical activity, the intensity of neutrons of secondary cosmic radiation was expected to remain almost constant. However, twofold (or even larger) intraday variations of the neutron count rate were observed on August 1–14, 1994. These quiet measurement conditions rule out the possibility that these bursts were associated with certain known extraterrestrial factors. It has been demonstrated that the observed neutron-intensity peaks were produced by lunar and solar tides. These results confirm that tidal forces play a prominent part in the generation of neutron fluxes from the surface of the Earth. The Astronomical Yearbook for 1994 published by the Russian Academy of Sciences was used in the present study.