Analytical Study of the Changes in Brightness Temperature Based on the Tectonic Field Associated With Three Earthquakes in the Eastern Tibetan Plateau

The thermal infrared brightness temperature (BT) of the eastern Tibetan Plateau (TP) was retrieved from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) level-1B data. The multiyear averaged BT background field was subtracted from the punctual BT data to yield monthly BT spatial anomaly, and calculated time series of BT for the secondary blocks. Then, the spatial and temporal changes in the BT of the study area before the Menyuan M6.4, Zaduo M6.2, and Jiuzhaigou M7.0 earthquakes were investigated and analyzed based on the tectonic setting. The results show the following. The spatial BT radiation enhancement frequency rose remarkably before strong earthquakes; each of the three earthquakes was preceded by marked spatiotemporal continuous BT anomalies. The tectonic setting significantly influences the BT anomaly feature. The spatial BT anomaly was not notable in the Qaidam and Qilian block before the Menyuan earthquake; the spatial BT anomaly mainly appeared in the Qiangtang and Bayan Har blocks before the Zaduo and Jiuzhaigou earthquakes. The Qiangtang and Bayan Har block’s BT time series curves have similar features. The Qaidam and Qilian block’s BT time series curves have analogous shapes. The three earthquakes may be regarded as one seismic event induced by a stage of tectonic stress enhancement rather than three independent occasions. The spatial BT anomalous behavior before earthquakes is, to a great extent, like the result of the rock stress loading experiment; the rock compression and the lithosphere–atmosphere–ionosphere coupling (LAIC) may be the main reasons for the intensification of the BT radiation.