Radon emanation on the San Andreas Fault

Abstract

Radon is a radioactive gas with a half-life of 3.8 days. (Half-life is the time required for the substance to lose half of its radioactivity by decay.) It is itself produced by the decay of uranium. Radon is constantly emanated from the Earth into the atmosphere. Many cases are known where anomalously large amounts of radon have been given off along active faults. THe radon emanation has shown variations with time that are related to changing atmospheric conidtions and possibly to nearby seismic activity.