Thoron, radon and microbial community as supportive indicators of seismic activity in groundwater

Earthquakes have a significant impact on groundwater environments as well as human life. However, identifying active and affected zones from seismic events using isotopic and microbial diversity indicators remains a challenging frontier. To validate the applicability of this coupled method for real-time analysis, we analyzed thoron (220Rn), radon (222Rn), microbial community compositions, and hydrochemistry in groundwater samples during the 2017 Pohang earthquake for the first time. We observed the detection of 220Rn in groundwater right before the aftershocks, with a high correlation to 222Rn concentrations. This indicates that 220Rn and 222Rn can serve as reliable seismic indicators for real-time analysis. The microbial data can assist in identifying affected groundwater zones, particularly when real-time detection of 220Rn is not feasible. At the phylum level, Peregrinibacteria and Firmicutes were only found in samples with detected thoron. At the genus level, hydrogen-oxidizing or sulfur-oxidizing bacteria could serve as indicators of active zones. Two statistical analyses, self-organizing map (SOM) and principal component analysis (PCA) using hydrochemical parameters, also correlated with the results from these coupled indicators. This study demonstrates the theoretical and practical applicability of 220Rn, 222Rn, and microbial community compositions as new multi-faceted ecological indicators, whether for real-time analysis or otherwise.