Correlations between radon in soil gas and the activity of seismogenic faults in the Tangshan area, North China

The spatial variation of soil gas radon values were correlated with the seismogenic faults and earthquakes in the Tangshan area (north China). Radon concentrations were measured at 756 sites in an area about 2500 km2 from April to May 2010. The background and anomaly threshold values calculated were 4730.4 Bq/m3 and 8294.1 Bq/m3, respectively. Radon concentrations highlight a decreasing gradient from NE to SW in the area. Higher values mostly distributed in the NE sector of the Tangshan fault and the Luanxian fault where the Tangshan (Ms 7.8), and Luanxian (MS 7.1) earthquakes occurred in 1976 and 17 earthquakes with MS = 3.0 occurred in this area since 2005. Radon values illustrated a close relation with the shallow fault trace and earthquake activity in the area. The active fault zones and the associated fractures formed by the larger earthquakes, act as paths for radon migration.