The feasibility of using microstrip gas detector as radon detector for earthquake prediction

In the last decade, several studies have concluded that elevated concentrations of radon gas in soil or groundwater could be the sign of an imminent earthquake. It is believed that in case of sudden movement of rocks before earthquake, radon is released from the depth of ground and reached the surface. In this way, by measuring Radon concentration change, earthquake prediction is possible. In this study, for the purpose of the feasibility of using microstrip gas detector in monitoring Radon change, initially for the verification of the code, the range of radon alpha particles and its progeny in the air has been obtained in the standard condition, which is consistent with the experimental results. Then detector geometry has been simulated by MCNPX code and after examining the average of detector response to decay, the output code is calibrated considering the information about the radon changes in Jowshan hot spring. The results have shown that the detector response is comparable to the experimental data and can be used as an earthquake pre-indicator.