New Insights into Earthquake Light: Rayleigh Scattering as the Source of Blue Hue and a Novel Co-Seismic Cloud Phenomenon
The New Zealand Kaikoura Earthquake (M<sub>w</sub> 7.8, 14 November 2016) produced co-seismic flashes of earthquake light near the ground at midnight, 230 km north of the epicentre. Mostly, there was a white hemisphere in the atmosphere just above the ground, up to 250 m radius, the colo...
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MDPI AG
2025-02-01
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| author | Neil Evan Whitehead Ulku Ulusoy |
| author_facet | Neil Evan Whitehead Ulku Ulusoy |
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| description | The New Zealand Kaikoura Earthquake (M<sub>w</sub> 7.8, 14 November 2016) produced co-seismic flashes of earthquake light near the ground at midnight, 230 km north of the epicentre. Mostly, there was a white hemisphere in the atmosphere just above the ground, up to 250 m radius, the colour becoming radially increasingly dark blue. Fifteen videos were available for analysis which led to the following new or reaffirmed conclusions: (i) the blue colour is due to Rayleigh Scattering (new explanation); (ii) the light also sometimes occurs within low clouds but not as lightning—this is a new classification of earthquake light; (iii) the lithology may be greywacke, broadening previous literature emphasis on igneous sources; (iv) the light is most probably explained in our study area by seismically pressured microscopic quartz producing electric fields emerging into the atmosphere and reacting with it—mechanisms relying on particle-grinding or creation of cracks in rock are unlikely in the study area; (v) within the Wellington study area, the light is mostly independent of faults or their movement and is caused by seismic impulses which have travelled hundreds of kilometres from the epicentre—this possible independence from faults has not been clearly emphasised previously; and (vi) electrical grid problems are not the explanation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a3fdb5bc2f7146ae8538f9f04096e6b5 |
| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
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| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj-art-a3fdb5bc2f7146ae8538f9f04096e6b52025-08-20T03:43:34ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332025-02-0116327710.3390/atmos16030277New Insights into Earthquake Light: Rayleigh Scattering as the Source of Blue Hue and a Novel Co-Seismic Cloud PhenomenonNeil Evan Whitehead0Ulku Ulusoy1Whitehead Associates, 54 Redvers Drive, Lower Hutt 5010, New ZealandDepartment of Physics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hacettepe University, 06800 Çankaya, Ankara, TurkeyThe New Zealand Kaikoura Earthquake (M<sub>w</sub> 7.8, 14 November 2016) produced co-seismic flashes of earthquake light near the ground at midnight, 230 km north of the epicentre. Mostly, there was a white hemisphere in the atmosphere just above the ground, up to 250 m radius, the colour becoming radially increasingly dark blue. Fifteen videos were available for analysis which led to the following new or reaffirmed conclusions: (i) the blue colour is due to Rayleigh Scattering (new explanation); (ii) the light also sometimes occurs within low clouds but not as lightning—this is a new classification of earthquake light; (iii) the lithology may be greywacke, broadening previous literature emphasis on igneous sources; (iv) the light is most probably explained in our study area by seismically pressured microscopic quartz producing electric fields emerging into the atmosphere and reacting with it—mechanisms relying on particle-grinding or creation of cracks in rock are unlikely in the study area; (v) within the Wellington study area, the light is mostly independent of faults or their movement and is caused by seismic impulses which have travelled hundreds of kilometres from the epicentre—this possible independence from faults has not been clearly emphasised previously; and (vi) electrical grid problems are not the explanation.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/16/3/277earthquake lightKaikouraWellingtonNew Zealandquartzgreywacke |
| spellingShingle | Neil Evan Whitehead Ulku Ulusoy New Insights into Earthquake Light: Rayleigh Scattering as the Source of Blue Hue and a Novel Co-Seismic Cloud Phenomenon Atmosphere earthquake light Kaikoura Wellington New Zealand quartz greywacke |
| title | New Insights into Earthquake Light: Rayleigh Scattering as the Source of Blue Hue and a Novel Co-Seismic Cloud Phenomenon |
| title_full | New Insights into Earthquake Light: Rayleigh Scattering as the Source of Blue Hue and a Novel Co-Seismic Cloud Phenomenon |
| title_fullStr | New Insights into Earthquake Light: Rayleigh Scattering as the Source of Blue Hue and a Novel Co-Seismic Cloud Phenomenon |
| title_full_unstemmed | New Insights into Earthquake Light: Rayleigh Scattering as the Source of Blue Hue and a Novel Co-Seismic Cloud Phenomenon |
| title_short | New Insights into Earthquake Light: Rayleigh Scattering as the Source of Blue Hue and a Novel Co-Seismic Cloud Phenomenon |
| title_sort | new insights into earthquake light rayleigh scattering as the source of blue hue and a novel co seismic cloud phenomenon |
| topic | earthquake light Kaikoura Wellington New Zealand quartz greywacke |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/16/3/277 |
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