Earthquake Lights!

[Ninis, Dee]

Hi AEES people,

I've long been fascinated by reports of mysterious earthquake lights, which btw were also reported at the time of the 2016 M7.8 Kaikoura earthquake, including, if I recall correctly, by someone who was previously very much a sceptic!

Here's a summary of some recent findings. Hope they're of interest to you.

Does anyone know of any reports of this phenomenon associated with Australian earthquakes, by any chance?

https://temblor.net/earthquake-insights/earthquake-lightning-is-grounded-in-rock-slides-12395/

Dee

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Dee Ninis

Earthquake Geologist, Seismology Research Centre

141 Palmer Street, Richmond VIC 3121, Australia

T +61 3 8420 8998 F +61 3 8420 8900

Find us on our Website, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube

[wayne...@src.com.au]

Hi Dee,

Several people I interviewed as part of the isoseismal survey following the 1994 Ellalong earthquake mentioned a flash or glow of light at the time of the earthquake. One witness identified it as emanating from a low lying swampy area that was from memory was pretty much directly above where we estimated the event occurred. 

Wayne Peck

On 28 Jan 2021, at 12:42, Ninis, Dee <dee....@src.com.au> wrote:



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[Mike Turnbull Personal]

Hi All

 

From a physics point of view brief flashes of light would make rational sense. Depending on the crystal silicon content of the rock that breaks, the speed of the fracture (dependent on the fracture magnitude), and the length of the fracture (also dependent on the magnitude)  more or less piezoelectric voltage may be created with sufficient dipole effect to cause dielectric breakdown of the surface atmosphere, and thus flash-over. Personally I cannot see why there has been so much resistance (excuse the pun) in the seismological community to regard this effect as being mythical.

 

Mike Turnbull

619 Horsecamp Road

Horse Camp, Qld. 4671

Telephone: (07) 41576538

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[cdncollins]

Hi Dee ,

I agree, it's a fascinating topic and there is a lot out there on it. But regarding Australian earthquakes  I recently came across this reference to an earthquake in 1849 at Burra, South Australia, which was apparently accompanied by earthquake lights:

"Earthquake felt at Adelaide and Burra Burra. The Adelaide shock about 4 a.m., Thursday, the 15th of Sept., and was very slight. The Burra Burra one took place the same hour on Friday the 16th. The latter is thus described: On Friay lastt, about four o'clock the morning, shock of an earthquake was felt at the Burra Burra, the Village of Clare, and far to the north as the neighbourhood of Mount Bryan. Its direction was from south to north. It was not only heard and felt by many at Kooringa, but the glasses and bottles, the jars and pannakins, were rattled and shaken. It was attended a distinct rolling noise, resembling the rush of carriages, which lasted for half a minute, and in some houses even furniture was seen to move, the light of the moon being clear, by persons who chanced to be lying awake. Many who were lying asleep were awakened in fright. There no doubt of the reality of the shock, as testimony from all sides is concurrent, varying only from the circumstances of the early hour having found some sleepers who started in affright, some who slept through it, and a few who "on earnest business bent" were awake, and suddenly surprised by a jig among the moveables to the music of a mimic peal of thunder, which, a little contrary to the ordinary rules of etiquette, was followed by a mimic flash of lightning, so brilliant as to illuminate the country far and near."

From the Armagh Guardian,  2 April 1849

The mechanism has been long debated  including piezoelectric and triboelectric effects which I think were the causes referred to in the article you linked to. There is also the suggestion that streaming potentials may be the cause of electrical discharges in some cases - the movement of ions in subsurface fluids caused by seismic events.  I and a fellow student (Locky Cresswell) at Melbourne Uni did some field experiments back in 1971 with explosives, a seismic recording spread and strategically placed electrodes and half convinced ourselves that we observed electromagnetic pre-cursors to the seismic arrivals. As they say, needs more research...

Cheers, 

Clive Collins

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[C.S. Mk]

From childhood memory, I saw unusual "horizontal lights" just a moment before the devastating Skopje MW6.1 earthquake occurred. Later, when reading about it, I found some explanation that could be caused by piezoelectric effects of material during (micro)vibration. The phenomenon can not be used for warning thou, coz happens in a very short time before rupture energy is released.

Clive's field experiment description sounds very interesting.

Cvetan S.

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From: aee...@googlegroups.com <aee...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of cdncollins <cdnco...@gmail.com>
Sent: 28 January 2021 18:23
To: aee...@googlegroups.com <aee...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: RE: [aees] Earthquake Lights!

 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/aeesorg/60126669.1c69fb81.18bec.b753%40mx.google.com.

[Adam Pascale]

I remember seeing the footage featured in this video a few years ago. Sort of looks like lightning, but I guess it could be the clouds just reflecting the illumination from the emitted energy.

Adam Pascale

Chief Scientist

  

Seismology Research Centre

    

[Tamarah King]

Hi Dee,

 

Now that you mention it, we camped within a few kilometres of the 2016 Petermann epicentre (about two weeks after the mainshock) and I remember seeing a large flash the first night and joking that a secret US/Aus military base must be testing something in the distance. I didn’t think much about it but there were certainly a lot of aftershocks going on at the time, and the area is very granitic (which seems to fit with Mike’s suggestion). We generally heard (rather than felt) all those aftershocks, but perhaps we also saw some of them!

 

Cheers,

T

 

 

From: aee...@googlegroups.com <aee...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Adam Pascale
Sent: Thursday, 28 January 2021 8:46 AM
To: AEES Google Group <aee...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: [aees] Earthquake Lights!

 

I remember seeing the footage featured in this video a few years ago. Sort of looks like lightning, but I guess it could be the clouds just reflecting the illumination from the emitted energy.

 

Adam Pascale

Chief Scientist

  

 

Seismology Research Centre

    

 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/aeesorg/4F04A9C2-D89A-40B1-A792-A63856D4402F%40src.com.au.