Groundwater oxygen isotope anomaly before the M6.6 Tottori earthquake in Southwest Japan.

Geochemical monitoring of groundwater in seismically-active regions has been carried out since 1970s. Precursors were well documented, but often criticized for anecdotal or fragmentary signals, and for lacking a clear physico-chemical explanation for these anomalies. Here we report - as potential seismic precursor - oxygen isotopic ratio anomalies of +0.

Origin of methane-rich natural gas at the West Pacific convergent plate boundary.

Methane emission from the geosphere is generally characterized by a radiocarbon-free signature and might preserve information on the deep carbon cycle on Earth. Here we report a clear relationship between the origin of methane-rich natural gases and the geodynamic setting of the West Pacific convergent plate boundary. Natural gases in the frontal arc basin (South Kanto gas fields, Northeast Japan) show a typical microbial signature with light carbon isotopes, high CH/CH and CH/He ratios.