Evidence of Radon Emission Associated with 7th October 2023 Earthquake off the Coast of Madang in Papua New Guinea

Abstract

 Radon is the only radioactive gas which is a progeny of Radium. Prior to earthquake, a large amount of radioactive radon gas is also emitted along with other gases from within the earth. Radiation due to radon gas is observed using Radon Eye+2 instrument in the UNITECH campus. Radon emission is observed to be low during dry season compared to wet season. A correlated variation is observed between radon emission and humidity. Emission of radon gas is observed during seismically active periods. A large peak of 565 Bq/m3 was observed prior to a series of earthquakes on the 7th October 2023 ranging from 5.1 to 6.9 magnitude off the coast of Madang Province approximately 183 km from Lae which is higher than the safe limit of 148 Bq/m3 radiation. Excess radon emission is observed ten days prior to the earth earthquake. The detection of radon emission prior to earthquake can be used as a tool for the prediction of earthquakes