Time difference correlation between earthquake lights and seismic ground accelerations

Abstract

Although earthquake lights have been known since ancient times, it has not been easy to study them. It was not until the 60s that the first photographs of them were taken. During the Peruvian earthquake in 2007, it was possible to obtain the first film recording on earthquake lights. Likewise, during the earthquakes in Ecuador in 2016 and in Mexico in 2017, two films of the earthquake lights were recorded. These film recordings have helped in the study of earthquake lights, both for their objectivity and for their informational content. Several causal mechanisms have been proposed to explain earthquake lights: piezoelectricity, radon emanation, fluid diffusion, friction-vaporization, positive holes and dipole currents, among others. In this work a time difference correlation between earthquake lights and seismic ground accelerations was found and we use both seismic data and film recordings of earthquake lights to explain its origin. In the discussion section it is suggested that fracturing of rocks manifest itself to some extent in the form of static electricity producing earthquake lights through induction The induction model proposed is new and it can explain the formation of EQL, even if the earth’s crust has layers of large electrical resistivity. The model also explains the formation of seismic lights without the need for special conditions on the earth’s surface or in the atmosphere. A better understanding of the earthquake lights generation process can improve our understanding of seismicity and help in the prediction of earthquakes.