On the features and mechanism of satellite infrared anomaly before earthquakes in Taiwan Region

The phenomenon of a satellite thermal infrared (TIR) anomaly before earthquakes has been reported since the late 1980s. The reported increase of surface temperatures reaches 2-4 degC, occasionally higher. Usually, the anomaly appears one month to several days before the earthquake. Several mechanisms of hypothesis have been put forward to interpret the reported temperature increase. In this paper, the satellite TIR anomaly features of four earthquakes in the Taiwan region are first analyzed. To study the mechanisms of infrared anomaly a group of physical simulation experiments are carried out. The mechanism of the satellite Infrared anomaly before an earthquake in the Taiwan region is discussed based on the experimental results. Furthermore, a preliminary model for tectonic activity analysis and for short-term earthquake prediction based on the analysis of the satellite infrared anomaly before an earthquake in the Taiwan region is presented.