Earth:Earthquake light

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Short description: Reported luminous phenomenon associated with earthquakes


File:Earthquake light at Ebingen.png
Eyewitness drawing of earthquake lights during the 1911 Ebingen earthquake.[1]: 191–192 
File:Ofunato Bay after 1933 tsunami.jpg
Massakicho Town, Ōfunato Bay after the 1933 Sanriku earthquakes, where reports described bluish-white luminescence over seabed exposed by receding tsunami waters.[2]: 215, 322 

An earthquake light, also known as earthquake lightning or an earthquake flash, is a light said to occur at or near areas of tectonic stress, seismic activity, or volcanic eruptions.[3] Experts differ on whether the lights are real phenomena and if so, whether there is a causal link to earthquakes, while others reserve the term for events associated with seismic activity.[1]: 189  Reports mention flashes, glows, luminous orbs, and other transient lights observed before, during, or after earthquakes and at various distances from the sites of the earthquakes.[lower-alpha 1] Earthquake lights were first recorded on film in the 1960s in Japan.[lower-alpha 2]

Several mechanisms have been proposed, including ionospheric or magnetic disturbances, piezoelectric generation, rock stress ionization, seismo-electric effects involving seismic strain and electric fields, as well as triboelectric related discharge. Some reported earthquake lights have also been attributed to non-seismic causes such as lightning, arcing power lines, or electrical-grid failures.

History

File:Fujiwara no Tokihira01.jpg
Fujiwara no Tokihira recorded one of the earliest known reports of earthquake lights in 901, from the 869 Jōgan earthquake: 流光如晝隱映 ("flowing light bright as day, flickering").[13]

Luminous phenomena associated with earthquakes have been reported for millennia, as early as the 4th century BCE.[lower-alpha 3] Donga Science said that sixty-five reports of "earthquake-related aerial luminescence" between the 18th and 20th centuries were made across the Americas and Europe.[14]

Reports through the nineteenth century

Historical and cultural records related to phenomena such as earthquake lights are well documented in East Asian countries with long histories of damaging earthquakes.[lower-alpha 4] The oldest reported examples include accounts from the 373 BCE destruction of Helice and Buris, and reports from Italy in 89 BCE.[1]: 189–190 [19] Reports of earthquake lights accompanied the 869 Jōgan earthquake, described as "strange lights in the sky" in 901's Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku, part of the Rikkokushi or Six National Histories, the final volume curated for the Japanese government by Fujiwara no Tokihira.[13] Japanese earthquake light folklore includes older sayings, later cited in a 2004 survey, that associated fire-like red light at night with a nearby large earthquake or tsunami and warned that "red clouds at nine o'clock on a dark night" meant an earthquake was coming.[15]: 3 

Reports of light effects accompanied the 1822 Valparaíso earthquake.[20]: 16  A "luminous appearance" in the sky was also reported around the North Canterbury earthquake in New Zealand on September 1, 1888.[12] In the 19th century, geologist Frederick Hutton wrote in his report to the Royal Society of New Zealand that he did not believe lights observed in the sky nearby had any connection to seismic activity.[12]

Twentieth-century reports and research

During the 1911 earthquake at Ebingen, Germany, factory foreman Friedrich Konzelmann observed and drew a ground flash that rose into a ball of light he described as "about the size of 20 suns".[1]: 191–192  In 1911, John Milne reviewed Ignazio Galli's catalogue of 148 luminous phenomena reported around earthquakes.[20]: 16  A 2005 study described earlier Japanese research by K. Musha and Torahiko Terada as pioneering work on luminous phenomena associated with earthquakes; Musha collected about 2,000 eyewitness reports from 65 earthquakes, while Terada considered triboluminescence but found it difficult to explain some reported luminous phenomena that way.[21][15]: 2–3  Members of the Earthquake Research Institute reported observing earthquake lights during the 1930 North Izu events and later gathered nearly 1,500 eyewitness accounts, including sketches and outlines of the lights.[2]: 215, 322 

According to Physics World and other sources, earthquake lights were "first captured on film" in the 1960s.[lower-alpha 2] The Nagano City Museum described the 1965–1967 Matsushiro earthquake swarm as the first earthquake sequence in which luminous phenomena associated with earthquakes were photographed, crediting the photographs to local dentist Tōru Kuribayashi.[5]: 3  Smithsonian described the 1965 Nagano photographs as the point at which scientists acknowledged the phenomenon's validity.[12] However, some seismologists suggested the photos captured during the Matsushiro earthquake swarm may have been forgeries, including Tsuneji Rikitake.[22]

Reports of lights before earthquakes have also included the 1930 North Izu and 1976 Tangshan earthquakes.[15]: 156  In 1970, David Finkelstein and James R. Powell framed earthquake lightning as a possible "seismoelectric effect" in which seismic strains from an earthquake generate an electric field in the air.[8] In a 1973 review in Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, J. S. Derr wrote, "the existence of the phenomenon is considered well-established, although no completely satisfactory explanation has been advanced to date."[8][18] In 1978, T. Neil Davis wrote of the earthquake lights photographed in 1965 and that the phenomenon was no longer in "shadows of scientific skepticism."[23] Lights were reported with the 1988 Saguenay earthquake.[1]: 190 

File:Esenköy, Çınarcık, Yalova.jpg
Çınarcık on the Sea of Marmara, near where luminous phenomena were discussed in reports following the 1999 İzmit earthquake.[24][25]

Reports of lights before earthquakes were also associated with the 1995 Hanshin earthquake.[26] After the 1999 İzmit earthquake in Turkey, a report circulated claiming volcanic activity in the Sea of Marmara near Çınarcık, including "fireballs", dead fish, burned nets, and rocks described as "magmatic".[25] The Smithsonian Institution's Global Volcanism Program classified the account as a false volcanic report, stating that no volcanism was reported by geologists working in Turkey after the earthquake and that the alleged samples were not made available for scientific follow-up.[25] The Smithsonian bulletin suggested that the reported lights could have been earthquake lights.[25] A separate Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT) field report on the earthquake recorded tsunami evidence, slumping, liquefaction, and reports of a luminous red glow in the sky around the time of the earthquake.[24]

Twenty-first-century reports and recordings

Reports of earthquake lights motivated the creation of QuakeFinder, which gathered related telemetry to attempt forecasting of seismic events from 2000 to 2023.[27] Lights coinciding with tectonic activity have sometimes been filmed by witnesses or security cameras, dashcams, and smartphones.[14] The first known recording of earthquake lights was during the 2007 Peru earthquake,[28] while reports of lights before earthquakes later included the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China[29] and the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake in Italy.[19] Earthquake prediction research in Korea by 2010 examined the use of earthquake lights as a trackable seismic precursor.[30] Later recordings included the 2010 Chile earthquakes.[31]

A 2016 article in Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry examined religious and cultural traditions shaped by interpretations of earthquake lights, using Greek Orthodox legends about St. George Monastery near Cape Fiolent in Ukraine and Panagia Trypiti in Aigio, Greece as examples.[32]: 160–163  Lights were also reported during the 2016 Ecuador earthquake in San Isidro, Pedernales, and Canoa, and as far as Guayaquil.[33]: 3391 [34][35] Earthquake lights were reportedly spotted in Mexico City after a 8.2 magnitude earthquake with epicenter 740 km (460 mi) away, near Pijijiapan in the state of Chiapas.[36]

Christina Nunez, writing in National Geographic in 2020, said that the USGS was "circumspect" about the existence of earthquake lights, quoting it that geophysicists disagreed on whether any existing evidence represented the existence of earthquake lights, while others thought some evidence may correspond to earthquake lights.[4][37] Later reports and recordings included the 2022 Düzce earthquake in Turkey,[29] a magnitude 6.8 aftershock of the 2022 Michoacán earthquake,[38] and the 2023 Al Haouz earthquake at Marrakesh.[14][29]

Reported details

Inherent challenges in studying earthquake lights include the lack of a confirmed and accepted geological mechanism,[1]: 193  and difficulties establishing criteria for including eyewitness reports or excluding them as the result of another known cause, such as coinciding weather or atmospheric phenomena.[39]: 171, 175–179  There are few reliable images or photographs of claimed earthquake lights.[1]: 190  Earthquake lights of various types have been reported before, during, and after earthquakes.[lower-alpha 1] The lights have been reported as white or blue flashes[40] and as glowing orbs.[3][41] The 2021 Guerrero earthquake near Acapulco in Mexico included reports of "blue lights, like flashes of cerulean".[27][9] In 2023, New Scientist reported that the idea of "blue flashes" having been caused by earthquakes "is often dismissed by scientists."[27]

The Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics defines earthquake lights as anomalous luminosities observed prior to or during a seismic event, or during an aftershock sequence.[1]: 189  The Korea Meteorological Administration identified earthquake lights as "luminous phenomena in the sky seen before earthquakes".[30] The China Earthquake Networks Center, in public education material on earthquake macro-precursors, stating that earth lights generally appear shortly before or during earthquakes, may also appear hours or earlier beforehand, and have been reported in band-like, sheet-like, spherical, columnar, and fire-like forms.[6] Accounts of viewable distance from the epicenter varies: in the 1930 North Izu earthquake lights were reported up to 110 km (70 mi) from the epicenter.[12][2] According to National Geographic, earthquake lights were previously reported in North America and Japan among other locations, but are more common in South America, China, France, Germany, Greece, and Italy.[7]

JMA reported details about and specific to the 1960s Matsushiro earthquake swarm luminous phenomena, which the Nagano City Museum summarized: during the incidents phenomena were more likely at certain times of day, lasted tens of seconds, brightening suddenly, and then fading gradually.[5]: 3  Reports of lights at Matsushiro were generally accompanied by atmospherics, appeared in white, bluish white, red, pink, orange, and yellow, and were sometimes bright enough to be mistaken for a fire or daylight.[5]: 3  Reports from the 1896 and 1933 Sanriku earthquakes described bluish-white luminescence over seabed exposed by receding tsunami waters, with later accounts saying the glow continued on the sea surface until waves returned to shore.[2]: 215, 322 

Proposed theories

Proposals have included piezoelectricity,[12][42]: 489  electrokinetic effects involving streaming potentials in water-filled porous rock,[43]: 367  frictional heating and vaporization near shear zones,[44]: 56, 60–61  exo-electron emission,[44]: 59–60  and triboelectric or fracture-electrification mechanisms.[44]: 60–63  Triboelectric and triboluminescent effects have been reported as possible theories.[45] Rock-stress models, including positive hole charge carrier models, have proposed that stressed rocks can generate mobile effects that migrate toward the surface, ionize air, and produce corona discharges, plasma, and light.[12][1]: 192–193  Some research suggests the angle of the fault is related to the likelihood of earthquake light generation, with subvertical faults in continental rift environments having the highest reported incidence of earthquake lights.[19]

Seismologist Miguel Angel Santoyo of the School of Sciences, UNAM told Nova that the lights that appeared in social media videos after the 2021 Guerrero earthquake was felt in Mexico City were caused by a combination of lightning from an ordinary thunderstorm that was in progress at the time of the quake, and from electrical arcing as power lines swayed during the shaking.[9] Fellow UNAM seismologist Víctor Manuel Cruz summarized the lights as "nothing more than lightning on a rainy day."[46] Nova also reported that some of the lights in the videos appeared to have been caused by transformers blowing due to the sudden seismic activity.[9] Some reported occurrences of earthquake lights have later been shown to originate from disruptions to electrical grids, such as arcing power lines, which can produce bright flashes as a result of ground shaking or hazardous weather conditions.[4][47]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 USGS describes sheet lightning, balls of light, streamers, and steady glows;[4] other reports cite glowing orbs;[3] Matsushiro reports (JMA; Nagano City Museum) include lights in multiple colors;[5]: 3  and China Earthquake Networks Center lists earth lights as band-like, sheet-like, spherical, columnar, and fire-like.[6] National Geographic notes lights were reported weeks before or during major earthquakes;[7] the Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics defines them as linked to seismic stress;[1][8] and reports include lights up to 110 km (70 mi) from certain earthquakes.[1]: 190 [3][9]
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Physics World, National Geographic, the Nagano City Museum, and JMA state earthquake lights were first captured on film in the 1960s at Matsushiro;[3][7][5]: 3 [10] JMA records ten photographic examples by Tōru Kuribayashi and notes ground sounds and luminous phenomena throughout the swarm.[10][11] Smithsonian describes those photographs as the point scientists acknowledged the phenomenon's validity.[12]
  3. ↑ The chronological and geographic range of reported earthquake light accounts, not the verification of each individual report. The Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics entry traces reported earthquake lights to the 373 BCE Helice and Buris earthquake and discusses later reports including the 1988 Saguenay earthquake in Quebec.[1]: 189–190 
  4. ↑ For the broader Asian folklore and historical context around earthquake associated luminous phenomena, see Ikeya.[15]: 2  For Chinese historical accounts of earthquake-associated luminous phenomena, see Kishimoto.[16] For Japanese historical records and later collections of luminous phenomena associated with earthquakes, see the Nagoya University workshop report, Derr's 1973 review, and the Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics.[17][18][1]: 189–190 

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 Gupta, H.K., ed (2021). Encyclopedia of Solid Earth Geophysics. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer Nature. "At present there is no consensus among seismologists on the phenomenology and physical mechanism of EQL and associated EM phenomena.".  Template:Twlac
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Lane, Frank W. (1966). The Elements Rage: The Extremes of Natural Violence. Newton Abbot, Devon: David & Charles. pp. 214–218. https://archive.org/details/elementsrageextr0000lane. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Randall, Ian (2014-01-14). "Study homes in on the cause of earthquake light". https://physicsworld.com/a/study-homes-in-on-the-cause-of-earthquake-lights/. "The origins of earthquake lights have long been an intriguing mystery for seismologists and their existence was not confirmed until they were first captured on film in the 1960s." 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "What are earthquake lights?". 2013-04-20. https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-are-earthquake-lights. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 陶山, 徹 (2015-06-30). "ふしぎな松代群発地震：温泉の湧き出しと発光現象" (in ja). 博物館だより (Nagano City Museum) (94): 1–5. https://www.city.nagano.nagano.jp/museum/pdf/dayori/94.pdf. Retrieved 2026-05-14. "地震の際の発光現象は以前にも目撃情報がありましたが、発光現象自体を撮影することができたのは、松代群発地震が世界初です（図6）。撮影したのは松代に住んでいた歯科医、故栗林亨氏です（図6）。". 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "地震来了怎么办（七）——怎样识别地震宏观前兆" (in zh). 中国地震台网中心. 2020-09-23. https://data.earthquake.cn/kpzslm/info/2020/12510607.html. "地声与地光，好像是一对孪生兄弟，它们往往在大震快要来临时，匆匆跑来向人们发出警报。地光的特点——一般出现在临震前或震时，也有出现于震前数小时或更早的。——形状各异，有带状光、片状光、球状光、柱状光、火样光等。——颜色多样，呈红、白、紫、橙等色。" 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Clark Howard, Brian (2014-01-07). "Bizarre Earthquake Lights Finally Explained". National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/140106-earthquake-lights-earthquake-prediction-geology-science. "For many years, sightings of earthquake lights were dismissed by the serious geology community. But in the mid-1960s, during a series of earthquakes in Nagano, Japan, scientists made photos of earthquake lights that were clearly tied to the geologic activity. Since then, an increasing number of the phenomena have been captured on film and video, Freund said, in part because of the rise of surveillance cameras.". 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Webster, Bayard (1977-07-08). "Studying the Eerie Light of Earthquakes". https://www.nytimes.com/1977/07/08/archives/studying-the-eerie-light-of-earthquakes.html. "A recently compiled collection of photographs of earthquake light flares. in the sky in Japan, combined with reports from visiting scientists of the strange lighting‐up of the sky during the massive earthquake in Tangshan, China, last year, have led researchers to begin scientific investigation of the phenomenon." 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 "Lights Flashed in the Sky During Mexico's Latest Earthquake. Why?". 2021-09-27. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYaCVWgB6XQ. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "地表現象・被害写真" (in ja). Japan Meteorological Agency. https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/kishou/know/jishin/matsushiro/mat50/disaster/higai.html. "松代群発地震では、多くの発光現象の観察記録が集められ、特に松代町東条の栗林亨氏による世界で初めての写真撮影例、10例（8例はカラー）が得られました。これらの資料は、発光現象を科学的に調査する上で貴重な資料となりました。" 
  11. ↑ "松代群発地震" (in ja). Japan Meteorological Agency. 2025-03-28. https://www.jma-net.go.jp/nagano/shosai/kazan/matsushiro.html. "一連の地震活動により、家屋の損壊、墓石・石燈の転倒、落石、地すべり、地割れ、液状化現象、湧水による被害が生じたほか、地震にともなう地鳴りや発光現象なども見られました。" 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 Stromberg, Joseph (2014-01-02). "Why Do Lights Sometimes Appear in the Sky During An Earthquake?". Smithsonian Magazine. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-do-lights-sometimes-appear-in-the-sky-during-an-earthquake-180948077/. "For much of modern history, these reports were considered apocryphal. It wasn't until a series of photographs of strange lights snapped during a 1965 earthquake in Nagano, Japan—including the one below—that scientists acknowledged the validity of the phenomenon." 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Clarke, Richard A.; Eddy, R. P. (2017). Warnings: Finding Cassandras to Stop Catastrophes. Harper Collins. p. 77. "The events of the 869 earthquake and tsunami, historically called Jogan Jishin in Japan, were recounted in the Japanese history text Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku [True History of Three Reigns of Japan], compiled in 901. 'People shouted and cried, lay down and could not stand up,' the book reports, following a "large earthquake" in Mutsu Province, during which there was 'some strange light in the sky.' People died in landslides or were crushed by the collapse of their homes. Buildings, gates, and walls were destroyed. 'Then the sea began roaring like a big thunderstorm. The sea surface suddenly rose up, and the huge waves attacked the land.'" 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "강진 발생한 모로코 상공에 나타난 '빛' 미스터리" (in ko). Donga Science. 2023-09-12. https://www.dongascience.com/ko/news/61606. "하지만 지진광 현상이 상상의 산물은 아니다. 오늘날에는 차량용 블랙박스, 스마트폰 등을 통해 영상 기록으로 증거가 남아 있기 때문이다." 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 Ikeya, Motoji (2004). Earthquakes and Animals: From Folk Legends to Science. River Edge, New Jersey: World Scientific. doi:10.1142/5382. ISBN 9789812385918. OCLC 1153481350. https://archive.org/details/earthquakesanima0000ikey. "A red light that spreads like a big fire over an usually dark area at night is a sign of a big earthquake or tsunami close to that area. Red clouds at nine o'clock on a dark night warn of an earthquake." 
  16. ↑ 岸本, 文男 (May 1980). (in ja)地質ニュース (Geological Survey of Japan) (309): 46-51. https://www.gsj.jp/data/chishitsunews/80_05_06.pdf. Retrieved 2026-05-19. "地鳴りと発光現象は地震の比較的普遍的な前兆現象であるらしく古文書にのこるその記録はかなり多いようである。". 
  17. ↑ (in ja)  (Report). Nagoya University Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Seismological and Volcanological Disaster Mitigation Research Center. March 2007. https://www.seis.nagoya-u.ac.jp/center/activity/nenpo/200702hikarunoka.pdf. Retrieved 2026-05-19. "日本国内で発生した地震発光現象の明治以前の100の目撃例と明治以降の2157の目撃例" 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Derr, J. S. (1973). "Earthquake lights: A review of observations and present theories" (in en). Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 63 (6–1): 2177–2187. doi:10.1785/BSSA0636-12177. ISSN 0037-1106. https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/ssa/bssa/article-abstract/63/6-1/2177/117338/Earthquake-lights-A-review-of-observations-and. "the existence of the phenomenon is considered well-established, although no completely satisfactory explanation has been advanced to date.". 
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Clark, Liat (2014-01-03). "Seismologists offer explanation for mysterious aerial light orbs preceding quakes". Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/earthquake-lights-explanation/. Retrieved 2026-05-14. 
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Milne, John (1911-07-06). "Earthquakes and Luminous Phenomena". Nature 87 (2175): 16. doi:10.1038/087016a0. Bibcode: 1911Natur..87...16M. https://www.nature.com/articles/087016a0.  Template:Twlac
  21. ↑ Kamogawa, Masashi; Ofuruton, Hideho; Ohtsuki, Yoshi-Hiko (July–August 2005). "Earthquake light: 1995 Kobe earthquake in Japan". Atmospheric Research 76 (1–4): 438–444. doi:10.1016/j.atmosres.2004.11.018. Bibcode: 2005AtmRe..76..438K. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0169809505000694. 
  22. ↑ Freund, Friedemann T. (2014-01-13). "Moses' burning bush explained? The mysterious physics behind earthquake lights" (in en-US). https://theconversation.com/moses-burning-bush-explained-the-mysterious-physics-behind-earthquake-lights-21871. 
  23. ↑ Davis, T. Neil (1978-04-03). "Earthquake Lights". https://www.gi.alaska.edu/alaska-science-forum/earthquake-lights. "No longer does this subject lurk in the shadows of scientific skepticism. Among the more illuminating observations that have brought this topic out into the scientific light of day are those acquired by a Japanese dentist. He managed to photograph earthquake lights occurring during a ten-year earthquake swarm starting in 1965." 
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Bilham, Roger. "Geological, Tectonic and Seismological Aspects of the 17 August 1999 Izmit Earthquake". Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder. https://cires1.colorado.edu/~bilham/Izmit_EEFIT_REPORT.htm. 
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 Global Volcanism Program (November 1999). Wunderman, Richard. ed. "Report on False Reports (Unknown)". Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network (Smithsonian Institution) 24 (11). doi:10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN199911-600600. https://volcano.si.edu/showreport.cfm?doi=10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN199911-600600. Retrieved 2026-05-12. 
  26. ↑ Tsukuda, Tameshige (1997). "Sizes and Some Features of Luminous Sources Associated with the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu Earthquake". Journal of Physics of the Earth 45 (2): 73–82. doi:10.4294/jpe1952.45.73. https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jpe1952/45/2/45_2_73/_article/-char/ja/. 
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 Scharping, Nathaniel (2023-05-03). "These bizarre lights in the sky hint at a way to predict earthquakes". https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25834370-100-these-bizarre-lights-in-the-sky-hint-at-a-way-to-predict-earthquakes/. 
  28. ↑ Lira, Juan Antonio; Mulas, Maurizio (2021-03-01). "Time difference correlation between earthquake lights and seismic ground accelerations" (in en). Applied Geophysics 18 (1): 9–16. doi:10.1007/s11770-021-0850-1. ISSN 1993-0658. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11770-021-0850-1. 
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 최, 재서 (2023-09-14). "모로코 강진 그날 의문의 빛 '번쩍'…지진 전조 현상?" (in ko). Yonhap News Agency. https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20230914123700009. "지난 8일(현지시간) 모로코에 강진이 발생하기 직전 하늘에서 의문의 빛이 번쩍인 것으로 알려지며 관심을 끌고 있다" 
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 "EBS '자연의 경고 : 지진예보, 왜 어려운가?' 방영" (in ko). Korea Meteorological Administration. 2010-03-22. https://www.kma.go.kr/kma/news/photo.jsp?bid=focus&from=2025-12-05&mode=view&num=174&page=152&to=2026-03-05. "또한 지진 발생 전에 보이는 하늘의 발광 현상인 지진광을 이용해 지진의 전조를 파악하려는 연구도 진행되고 있다. 이런 다양한 시도에도 불구하고 지진 예측은 아직도 요원한 숙제이다." 
  31. ↑ "Registran enormes luces en el cielo durante terremoto de 88 grados de magnitud que destruyo Chile" (in es). Peru Online. February 28, 2010. http://www.peru.com/noticias/portada20100228/83581/Registran-enormes-luces-en-el-cielo-durante-terremoto-de-88-grados-de-magnitud-que-destruyo-Chile. 
  32. ↑ Florinsky, Igor V. (2016). "Earthquake Lights in Legends of the Greek Orthodoxy". Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry 16 (1): 159-168. doi:10.5281/zenodo.35529. https://www.maajournal.com/index.php/maa/article/view/417. Retrieved 2026-05-19. "Sites of EQL watching are becoming places of worship; churches and monasteries are often built in such sites (see examples in Section 3.2). In this paper we study a stereotype of EQL interpretation in legends of the Greek Orthodoxy exemplified by the legends about the foundation of two places of worship: St. George Monastery near the Cape Fiolent, Crimea and Panagia Tripiti Church in Aigion, Peloponnese (Fig.1).". 
  33. ↑ Chunga, Kervin; Livio, Franz; Mulas, Maurizio; Ochoa‐Cornejo, Felipe; Besenzon, Davide; Ferrario, Maria Francesca; Michetti, Alessandro Maria (December 2018). "Earthquake Ground Effects and Intensity of the 16 April 2016 Mw 7.8 Pedernales, Ecuador, Earthquake: Implications for the Source Characterization of Large Subduction Earthquakes" (in en). Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 108 (6): 3384–3397. doi:10.1785/0120180051. ISSN 0037-1106. https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/ssa/bssa/article/108/6/3384/559138/Earthquake-Ground-Effects-and-Intensity-of-the-16. 
  34. ↑ Lira, Juan Antonio; Mulas, Maurizio (March 2021). "Time difference correlation between earthquake lights and seismic ground accelerations" (in en). Applied Geophysics 18 (1): 9–16. doi:10.1007/s11770-021-0850-1. ISSN 1672-7975. https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11770-021-0850-1. 
  35. ↑ Cacho, Juan Antonio Lira (2021-03-17). "Las luces del terremoto de Guayaquil del 16 de abril de 2016: Un estudio de la correlación con la aceleración" (in es). Revista ECIPerú 18 (1,2): 25–31. doi:10.33017/RevECIPeru2021.0003/. ISSN 1813-0194. https://revistas.eciperu.net/index.php/ECIPERU/article/view/467. 
  36. ↑ "¿Qué eran las luces que se vieron durante el sismo?" (in es). El Universal. http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/nacion/sociedad/que-eran-las-luces-que-se-vieron-durante-el-sismo. 
  37. ↑ Nunez, Christina (2019-04-16). "Earthquake lights, explained". https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/earthquake-lights. 
  38. ↑ Davies, Peter (2022-09-22). "6.9 magnitude earthquake rocks Michoacán; 2 deaths reported". https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/6-9-magnitude-earthquake-rocks-michoacan/. 
  39. ↑ Whitehead, Neil; Ulusoy, Ülkü (2019-01-01). "Blue sky at midnight - earthquake lightning" (in en). Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences 28 (1): 171–186. doi:10.3906/yer-1712-24. 
  40. ↑ Carter, Lori (25 August 2014). "Did you see flashes? Yep, an earthquake can create 'em (w/video)". Press Democrat (Press Democrat). http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/2586646-181/did-you-see-flashes-yep#page=1. 
  41. ↑ Simons, Paul (2008-03-15). "Glowing lights around an earthquake's epicenter". The Times (London). https://www.thetimes.com/world/article/glowing-lights-around-an-earthquakes-epicentre-3vdnvh2jhzb. 
  42. ↑ Kato, Mamoru; Mitsui, Yuta; Yanagidani, Takashi (2010-05-01). "Photographic evidence of luminescence during faulting in granite" (in en). Earth, Planets and Space 62 (5): 489–493. doi:10.5047/eps.2010.02.004. ISSN 1880-5981. https://doi.org/10.5047/eps.2010.02.004. 
  43. ↑ Mizutani, Hitoshi; Ishido, Tsuneo; Yokokura, T.; Ohnishi, S. (1976). "Electrokinetic phenomena associated with earthquakes". Geophysical Research Letters 3 (7): 365-368. doi:10.1029/GL003i007p00365. "Terada (1931) attempted to explain earthquake lightning (Mushya, 1932; Yasui, 1968; Derr, 1973) by the streaming potential assuming very high pressure of water. Although we cannot accept the Terada view on the existence of highly pressurized water, a locally high pressure gradient may occur in nature and may be related to earthquake lightning.". 
  44. ↑ 44.0 44.1 44.2 Torabi, Mehdi; Fattahi, Morteza (2019). "Luminous Phenomena of Earthquakes: Observations and Theories". Iranian Journal of Geophysics: 50-67. https://www.ijgeophysics.ir/article_85871_d26385846fcea66085492b485e3538f1.pdf. "The lights were seen extensively over the Santa Rosa area and described in terms of lightning or electric sparks, Saint Elmo's Fire, fireballs or meteors.". 
  45. ↑ Kim, Meeri (2014-03-06). "Experiments at Rutgers lend credence to existence of 'earthquake lights'". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/experiments-at-rutgers-lend-credence-to-existence-of-earthquake-lights/2014/03/06/241a1a9c-a4c7-11e3-8466-d34c451760b9_story.html. "Earthquake precursors — from strange animal behavior to temperature anomalies — may sound like urban legends ... Although at times mistaken for UFO sightings, observations of earthquake lights date back hundreds of years." 
  46. ↑ Aguirre, Samedi (9 September 2021). "La tecnología HAARP no provocó el sismo de 7.1 en México ni las 'luces del terremoto'". Animal Político. https://grupoanimal.mx/verificacion-viral/tecnologia-haarp-provoca-sismo-mexico-falso. "¿Y las luces? Para el sismólogo, “no fueron más que relámpagos en un día lluvioso”." 
  47. ↑ Bressan, David (2021-09-08). "'Light Shows' Filmed During Mexico Quake Are Neither Earthquake Lights Nor UFOs". https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidbressan/2021/09/08/light-show-filmed-during-mexico-quake-are-neither-earthquake-lights-nor-ufos/. 

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