New Seismograph

            A scientific research team led by Wang Weixi, a professor from the China University of Geosciences, has developed a highly sensitive seismograph, which can forecast earthquakes by detecting hydrogen concentration in the atmosphere. The new instrument is around a million times more sensitive than current devices.

        Hydrogen is recognized as the most sensitive chemical substance in earthquake prediction. Seismologists generally consider that earthquakes happen when serpentinite or plastic rocks in the lower layers of the Earth’s crust are pressed into cracks in the upper layer. As hydrogen is released during this process, atmospheric levels of the gas soar 10 to 40 days before a quake, reaching a concentration tens of thousands of times above normal.