Simultaneous Measurement of Groundwater Radon in a Large Area: First Results

Aims: Simultaneous measurement of groundwater 222Rn concentrations in Krasnodar territory (South Russia) and in southwest Turkey for seismological application (earthquake predict) was began.
Study Design: Simultaneous measurement of 222Rn concentration in groundwater samples on the large area can be taken for the study of earthquake precursors.
Place and Duration of Study: Research Centre of Natural Radioactivity (South Russia, Krasnodar region, well in the set. of Kholmsky and well in the set. of Spokoinaya), Suleyman Demirel University (Southwest Turkey, two springs in Pamukkale geothermal region), between 2012 and 2013.
Methodology: Sampling was carried out at 9-00 GMT daily. The usual method of definition of alpha - activity in the scintillation chamber for fast measurement of 222Rn in water with minimally registered concentration 0.1 Bq L-1 was applied. Atmospheric air, taking 222Rn, is passing through the glass with volume of 0.5 L with a researched sample. The obtained 222Rn data was compared with seismic data.
Results: Simultaneous increase of 222Rn concentration in all sources was observed before regional earthquakes. The results show changes of 222Rn in water of different wells and springs depending on different removal of an epicenter of the earthquake in researched area.
Conclusion: Results of simultaneous measurement of 222Rn concentration in groundwater on a large area can be used to determine of the epicenter of future earthquakes.