Recognition and characterization of a tectonically active Karak Thrust using radon measurement technique in the Southern Kohat Plateau, Pakistan
Keywords:
Radon; Soil air; Active faults demarcation; Active technique; Karak Thrust; PakistanAbstract
The technique of radon gas measurement can successfully be employed as a very useful geological tool in the prediction of earthquakes, authentication of active fault zones and exploration of hidden uranium deposits. This study was designed to declare appropriateness of this technique in the study of an active thrust fault in District Karak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. RAD7, a radon-in-air monitor of Durridge Company (USA) was used for the onsite soil air radon levels measurement in traverses made across the thrust fault on its either side. In this survey 21 measurement points were selected along four traverse lines across the fault. High levels of radon were observed in the soil air at points on or adjacent to the fault trace as compared to the points away from the fault line on its either side. The values were high by a factor of 5-12 times above the background values. This clearly indicates that the technique of soil air radon measurement can effectively be used as a realistic tool in the detection, characterization and mapping of the on surface and buried active geological faults. An earthquake occurred along the thrust two years after the conduction of this study in on September 28, 2014 confirming our conclusion that the fault is tectonically active.
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