Radon variations and microearthquakes in western Syria

Groundwater radon data were recorded at monthly intervals from two selected monitoring sites of the northern extension of the Dead Sea Fault System in western Syria during 1993 and 1994. This set of data was utilized to estimate the basic radon background content and the range of its normal variations in groundwater along the fault zone. The results suggest that the establishment of such range is important when attempting to separate the usual groundwater radon fluctuations from other anomalous or earthquake related values. In addition, the seismic activity in the study region was statistically analyzed, and the completeness of the earthquake catalogue during the given time-window was estimated to be at magnitude M greater than or equal to 3.5. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.