Seismic prediction with decay products
AssigneeNew York University
InventorNaomi H. Harley
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system and methods relating to the detection of unattached radioactive particles. Seismic events are correlated with an increased release of radon and related decay chain products. An apparatus is described for determining the increase in the unattached particles as an indicator for seismic activity. The apparatus may be used with fracking rigs or petrochemical wells to provide controls responsive to predicted seismic events.
Claims23
An method for predicting seismic activity, comprising:
- determining a current amount of unattached 218Po;
- and
- comparing the amount of unattached 218Po to a baseline of unattached elements selected from the group consisting of 218Po, 214Pb′ and 214Bi.
A system for predicting seismic activity comprising:
- a collection vessel having one or more inlets about a periphery and outlet;
- at least one impact plate positioned within the collection vessel between the inlet and the outlet and having a central opening;
- and
- a scintillation screen positioned between the inlet and the outlet;
- wherein the one or more inlets are disposed over the impact plate but not over the opening such that attached 218Po entering the collection vessel will not pass through the opening and the scintillation screen having a mesh size selected to detect unattached 218Po.
A method for monitoring the real-time concentration of an unattached radioactive material:
- collecting a sample of air from an environment in a collection vessel;
- filtering the sample of air to remove attached particles and passing through unattached 218Po;
- screening the unattached 218Po through a scintillation screen;
- and
- counting alpha particle emissions from the unattached 218Po.
A non-transitory computer-readable memory having instructions stored thereon, the instructions comprising:
- instructions for determining a current amount of unattached 218Po;
- instructions for comparing the amount of unattached 218Po to a baseline of unattached elements selected from the group consisting of 218Po, 214Pb′ and 214Bi;
- and
- instructions for detecting an increase from the baseline of unattached 218Po to the concentration of unattached elements selected from the group consisting of 218Po, 214Pb′ and 214Bi.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.