Synonyms
Luminous phenomena associated with earthquakes
Definition
Earthquake lights are anomalous luminosities associated with and presumably caused by the accumulation and release of stress of the earthquake process, observed prior to or during a seismic event and/or during the aftershock sequence. There is some disagreement over whether the classification Earthquake Lights (EQL) applies to similar luminous phenomena observed in earthquake-prone areas or along faults without immediately associated seismic activity. These may be due to locally high stress levels in the Earth’s crust that are subsequently relieved without catastrophic rock failure, or by earthquakes that are too distant or late relative to the observed EQL.
Classification of earthquake lights
The earliest known report of earthquake lights dates to 373 BCE when the Greek cities Helice and Buris were destroyed by an earthquake accompanied by “immense columns of fire” (Seneca). Ancient references will always be...
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Bibliography
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Derr, J.S., St-Laurent, F., Freund, F.T., Thériault, R. (2011). Earthquake Lights. In: Gupta, H.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8702-7_205
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8702-7_205
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