TIL that retired chemist, Khonghao Shou, predicted the 2003 earthquake in Bam, Iran by observing cloud formations.

CodeMonkeyDance, 11 months ago

I could claim that clouds indicate my mood. Or perhaps I’m having a bad day? Is this the quality we can expect from Mastadon? Isnt much of an improvement over Twitter.

johndoe, 11 months ago

You didn’t read any of the links, did you? BTW, this is not Mastadon.

SulaymanF, 11 months ago

How would cloud formations tell you about upcoming fault movements?

johndoe, 11 months ago

From one of the provided links:

“Shou’s unconventional theory is as follows: intense heat and pressure at faults, due to friction between sections of crust, enables underground water vapour to collect in cracks around larger faults. These can be released to the surface, where the amount of vapour can indicate the strength, and thus magnitude, of the impending earthquake. Once the vapour is released from the fault, which signals roughly where the epicentre will be, it heats up the surrounding air. This enables it to rise, and, once at a suitable altitude (as is the standard procedure for cloud formation), cool and condense - forming clouds roughly along the fault line, fuelled from the point of vapour release. This release is accompanied by a drop in strength of the surrounding rock, hence making an earthquake likely.”

Or, for a quasi-animated version, skip to 0:48 in the provided youtube link.

johndoe, 11 months ago

Correction: KZhonghao Shou