Abstract
The radon concentration in soil gas at the crustal surface is closely related to the development of local fractures. Therefore, the spatial variation in soil-gas radon concentrations across faults differs between fault zones located in different tectonic environments. This study investigates the Beiluntai thrust fault and the Haiyuan strike-slip fault in west China, which are assumed to be typical examples of the different types of faults. Radon concentrations in soil gas were measured at various locations around these faults, and the spatial variation in these concentrations was characterized along fault-perpendicular profiles. For normal fault, our results indicate that concentrations are usually highest at the fault, and decrease gradually away from the fault in either direction. For thrust, however, concentrations increase in the hanging wall approaching the fault, but decrease sharply at the fault. For strike-slip fault with extension across the fault, soil-gas radon concentrations are relatively high at the fault, and decrease gradually with distance from the fault. For strike-slip fault with contraction across the fault, soil-gas radon concentrations are relatively low at the fault, and increase gradually with distance from the fault.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Abdallah, S.M., Habib, R.R., Nuwayhid, R.Y., Chatila, M., and Katul, G., 2007, Radon measurements in well and spring water in Lebanon. Radiation Measurements, 42, 298–303.
Appleton, J.D. and Miles, J.C.H., 2010, A statistical evaluation of the geogenic controls on indoor radon concentrations and radon risk. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 101, 799–803.
Baykara, O., İnceöz, M., Doğru, M., Aksoy, E., and Külahcı, F., 2009, Soil radon monitoring and anomalies in East Anatolian Fault System (Turkey). Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 279, 159–164.
Ben-Zion, Y. and Sammis, C.G., 2003, Characterization of fault zones. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 160, 677–715.
Bonforte, A., Federico, C., Giammanco, S., Guglielmino, F., Liuzzo, M., and Neri, M., 2013, Soil gases and SAR measurements reveal hidden faults on the sliding flank of Mt. Etna (Italy). Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 251, 27–40.
Caine, J.S., Evans, J.P., and Forster, C.B., 1996, Fault zone architecture and permeability structure. Geology, 24, 1025–1028.
Catalano, R., Immè, G., Mangano, G., Morelli, D., Aranzulla, M., Giammanco, S., and Thinova, L., 2015, In situ and laboratory measurements for radon transport process study. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 306, 673–684.
Cavalié, O., Lasserre, C., Doin, M.-P., Peltzer, G., Sun, J., Xu, X., and Shen, Z.-K., 2008, Measurement of interseismic strain across the Haiyuan fault (Gansu, China), by InSAR. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 275, 246–257.
Cho, B.-W., Choo, C.O., Kim, M.S., Hwang, J., Yun, U., and Lee, S., 2015, Spatial relationships between radon and topographical, geological, and geochemical factors and their relevance in all of South Korea. Environmental Earth Sciences, 74, 5155–5168.
Choubey, V.M., Bartarya, S.K., Saini, N.K., and Ramola, R.C., 2001, Impact of geohydrology and neotectonic activity on radon concentration in groundwater of intermontane Doon Valley, Outer Himalaya, India. Environmental Geology, 40, 257–266.
Choubey, V.M., Bist, K.S., Saini, N.K., and Ramola, R.C., 1999, Relation between soil-gas radon variation and different lithotectonic units, Garhwal Himalaya, India. Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 51, 587–592.
Chyi, L.L., Quick, T.J., Yang, T.F., and Chen, C.H., 2010, The experimental investigation of soil gas radon migration mechanisms and its implication in earthquake forecast. Geofluids, 10, 556–563.
Ciotoli, G., Etiope, G., Guerra, M., and Lombardi, S., 1999, The detection of concealed faults in the Ofanto Basin using the correlation between soil-gas fracture surveys. Tectonophysics, 301, 321–332.
Cosma, C., Cucoş, A., Papp, B., Begy, R., Gabor, A., Bican-Brişan, N., and Beşuţiu, L., 2014, Radon implication in life and earth science: Băiţa-Ştei area and Peceneaga-Camena fault (Romania). Carpathian Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences, 9, 15–21.
Etiope, G. and Martinelli, G., 2002, Migration of carrier and trace gases in the geosphere: an overview. Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, 129, 185–204.
Giammanco, S., Immè, G., Mangano, G., Morelli, D., and Neri, M., 2009, Comparison between different methodologies for detecting radon in soil along an active fault: the case of the Pernicana fault system, Mt. Etna (Italy). Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 67, 178–185.
Han, Y.L., Kuo, M.C.T., Fan, K.C., Chiang, C.J., and Lee, Y.P., 2006, Radon distribution in groundwater of Taiwan. Hydrogeology Journal, 14, 173–179.
Heiligmann, M., Stix, J., Williams-Jones, G., Lollar, B.S., and Garzón, V.G., 1997, Distal degassing of radon and carbon dioxide on Galeras volcano, Colombia. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 77, 267–283.
Heinicke, J., Koch, U., and Martinelli, G., 1995, CO2 and radon measurements in the Vogtland Area (Germany)–a contribution to earthquake prediction research. Geophysical Research Letters, 22, 771–774.
Idriss, H., Salih, I., Alaamer, A.S., Abdelgalil, M.Y., Salih, S.A., Hasan, A.M., Eltahir, M.A., and Ahamed, M.M.O., 2014, Study of radon in soil gas, trace elements and climatic parameters around South Kordofan state, Sudan. Environmental Earth Sciences, 72, 335–339.
Immè, G., La Delfa, S., Lo Nigro, S., Morelli, D., and Patanè, G., 2006, Soil radon concentration and volcanic activity of Mt. Etna before and after the 2002 eruption. Radiation Measurements, 41, 241–245.
Jönsson, G., Baixeras, C., Devantier, R., Enge, W., Font, L.I., Freyer, K., and Treutler, H.-C., 1999, Soil radon levels measured with SSNTD’s and the soil radium content. Radiation Measurements, 31, 291–294.
Kemski, J., Klingel, R., and Siehl, A., 1996, Classification and mapping of radon-affected areas in Germany. Environment International, 22, 789–798.
King, C.-Y., Koizumi, N., and Kitagawa, Y., 1995, Hydrogeochemical anomalies and the 1995 Kobe earthquake. Science, 269, 38–39.
King, C.-Y., King, B.-S., Evans, W.C., and Zhang, W., 1996, Spatial radon anomalies on active faults in California. Applied Geochemistry, 11, 497–510.
Kobeissi, M.A., El-Samad, O., and Rachidi, I., 2013, Health assessment of natural radioactivity and radon exhalation rate in granites used as building materials in Lebanon. Radiation Protection Dosimetry, 153, 342–351.
Kobeissi, M.A., El Samad, O., Zahraman, K., Milky, S., Bahsoun, F., and Abumurad, K.M., 2008, Natural radioactivity measurements in building materials in southern Lebanon. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 99, 1279–1288.
Kobeissi, M.A., Gomez, F., and Tabet, C., 2015, Measurement of anomalous radon gas emanation across the Yammouneh Fault in southern Lebanon: a possible approach to earthquake prediction. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 6, 250–266.
La Delfa, S., Immè, G., Lo Nigro, S., Morelli, D., Patanè, G., and Vizzini, F., 2007, Radon measurements in the SE and NE flank of Mt. Etna (Italy). Radiation Measurements, 42, 1404–1408.
Linde, A.T. and Sacks, I.S., 1998, Triggering of volcanic eruptions. Nature, 395, 888–890.
Liu-Zeng, J., Klinger, Y., Xu, X., Lasserre, C., Chen, G., Chen, W., Tapponnier, P., and Zhang, B., 2007, Millennial recurrence of large earthquakes on the Haiyuan Fault near Songshan, Gansu Province, China. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 97, 14–34.
Luo, F.Z. and Xiang, Z.Y., 2002, New activity traces of active faults nearby Kuerle, Xinjiang. Inland Earthquake, 16, 148–153. (In Chinese)
Mazur, D., Janik, M., Łoskiewicz, J., Olko, P., and Swakoń, J., 1999, Measurements of radon concentration in soil gas by CR-39 detectors. Radiation Measurements, 31, 295–300.
Mollo, S., Tuccimei, P., Heap, M.J., Vinciguerra, S., Soligo, M., Castelluccio, M., Scarlato, P., and Dingwell, D.B., 2011, Increase in radon emission due to rock failure: an experimental study. Geophysical Research Letters, 38, L14304.
Mudd, G.M., 2008, Radon releases from Australian uranium mining and milling projects: assessing the UNSCEAR approach. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 99, 288–315.
Namvaran, M. and Negarestani, A., 2013, Measuring the radon concentration and investigating the mechanism of decline prior an earthquake (Jooshan, SE of Iran). Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 298, 1–8.
Nazaroff, W.W., 1992, Radon transport from soil to air. Reviews of Geophysics, 30, 137–160.
Neri, M., Behncke, B., Burton, M., Galli, G., Giammanco, S., Pecora, E., Privitera, E., and Reitano, D., 2006, Continuous soil radon monitoring during the July 2006 Etna eruption. Geophysical Research Letters, 33, L24316.
Neri, M., Giammanco, S., Ferrera, E., Patanè, G., and Zanon, V., 2011, Spatial distribution of soil radon as a tool to recognize active faulting on an active volcano: the example of Mt. Etna (Italy). Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 102, 863–870.
Neri, M., Guglielmino, F., and Rust, D., 2007, Flank instability on Mount Etna: Radon, radar interferometry, and geodetic data from the southwestern boundary of the unstable sector. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 112, B04410.
Papp, B., Szakács, A., Néda, T., Papp, Sz., and Cosma, C., 2010, Soil radon and thoron studies near the mofettes at Harghita Bai (Romania) and their relation to the field location of fault zones. Geofluids, 10, 586–593.
Pérez, N.M., Hernández, P.A., Padrón, E., Melián, G., Marrero, R., Padilla, G., Barrancos, J., and Nolasco, D., 2007, Precursory subsurface 222Rn and 220Rn degassing signatures of the 2004 seismic crisis at Tenerife, Canary Islands. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 164, 2431–2448.
Perrier, F., Richon, P., Byrdina, S., France-Lanord, C., Rajaure, S., Koirala, B.P., Shrestha, P.L., Gautam, U.P., Tiwari, D.R., Revil, A., Bollinger, L., Contraires, S., Bureau, S., and Sapkota, S.N., 2009, A direct evidence for high carbon dioxide and radon-222 discharge in Central Nepal. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 278, 198–207.
Phuong, N.K., Harijoko, A., Itoi, R., and Unoki, Y., 2012, Water geochemistry and soil gas survey at Ungaran geothermal field, central Java, Indonesia. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 229–230, 23–33.
Przylibski, T.A., 2000, Estimating the radon emanation coefficient from crystalline rocks into groundwater. Applied Radiation and Isotopes, 53, 473–479.
Roeloffs, E., 1999, Earth science: radon and rock deformation. Nature, 399, 104–105.
Scheib, C., Appleton, J.D., Miles, J.C.H., Hodgkinson, E., 2013, Geological controls on radon potential in England. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association, 124, 910–928.
Seminsky, K.Zh. and Bobrov, A.A., 2009, Radon activity of faults (western Baikal and southern Angara areas). Russian Geology and Geophysics, 50, 682–692.
Siniscalchi, A., Tripaldi, S., Neri, M., Giammanco, S., Piscitelli, S., Balasco, M., Behncke, B., Magri, C., Naudet, V., and Rizzo, E., 2010, Insights into fluid circulation across the Pernicana Fault (Mt. Etna, Italy) and implications for flank instability. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 193, 137–142.
Somlai, K., Tokonami, S., Ishikawa, T., Vancsura, P., Gáspár, M., Jobbágy, V., Somlai, J., and Kovács, T., 2007, 222Rn concentrations of water in the Balaton Highland and in the southern part of Hungary, and the assessment of the resulting dose. Radiation Measurements, 42, 491–495.
Sulochana, V., Francis, A., and Tickle, A., 2015, Morphology based radon processed neural network for transmission line fault detection. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Advances in Computing, Communications and Informatics, Kerala, Aug. 10–13, p. 1137–1143.
Tabar, E. and Yakut, H., 2014, Radon measurements in water samples from the thermal springs of Yalova basin, Turkey. Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, 299, 311–319.
Trique, M., Richon, P., Perrier, F., Avouac, J.P., and Sabroux, J.C., 1999, Radon emanation and electric potential variations associated with transient deformation near reservoir lakes. Nature, 399, 137–141.
Tuccimei, P., Mollo, S., Soligo, M., Scarlato, P., and Castelluccio, M., 2015, Real-time setup to record radon emission during rock deformation: implications for geochemical surveillance. Geoscientific Instrumentation, Methods and Data Systems Discussions, 5, 39–62.
Tuccimei, P., Mollo, S., Vinciguerra, S., Castelluccio, M., and Soligo, M., 2010, Radon and thoron emission from lithophysae-rich tuff under increasing deformation: an experimental study. Geophysical Research Letters, 37, L05305.
Wattananikorn, K., Techakosit, S., and Jitaree, N., 1995, A combination of soil gas radon measurements in uranium exploration. Nuclear Geophysics, 9, 643–652.
Wiegand, J., 2001, A guideline for the evaluation of the soil radon potential based on geogenic and anthropogenic parameters. Environmental Geology, 40, 949–963.
Yang, T.F., Walia, V., Chyi, L.L., Fu, C.C., Chen, C.-H., Liu, T.K., Song, S.R., Lee, C.Y., and Lee, M., 2005, Variations of soil radon and thoron concentrations in a fault zone and prospective earthquakes in SW Taiwan. Radiation Measurements, 40, 496–502.
Zahorowski, W., Chambers, S.D., and Henderson-Sellers, A., 2004, Ground based radon-222 observations and their application to atmospheric studies. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 76, 3–33.
Zarroca, M., Linares, R., Bach, J., Roqué, C., Moreno, V., Font, L., and Baixeras, C., 2012, Integrated geophysics and soil gas profiles as a tool to characterize active faults: the Amer fault example (Pyrenees, NE Spain). Environmental Earth Sciences, 67, 889–910.
Zimmer, M. and Erzinger, J., 2003, Continuous H2O, CO2, 222Rn and temperature measurements on Merapi volcano, Indonesia. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 125, 25–38.
Žunić, Z.S., Kobal, I., Vaupotič, J., Kozak, K., Mazur, J., Birovljev, A., Janik, M., Čeliković, I., Ujić, P., Demajo, A., Krstić, G., Jakupi, B., Quarto, M., and Bochicchio, F., 2006, High natural radiation exposure in radon spa areas: a detailed field investigation in Niška Banja (Balkan region). Journal of Environmental Radioactivity, 89, 249–260.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sun, X., Yang, P., Xiang, Y. et al. Across-fault distributions of radon concentrations in soil gas for different tectonic environments. Geosci J 22, 227–239 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12303-017-0028-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12303-017-0028-2