Few studies have determined the relationship between the thermal and methane anomalies associated with earthquakes. In this study, National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) air temperature data and Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) total column CH₄ data were used to extract the thermal anomalies and methane concentration anomalies before 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. The Granger causality test is then used to support or disprove some conjectures that describe the relation between thermal anomalies and methane anomalies The results show that thermal anomalies appeared from May 5 to 14, 2008, and that methane anomalies appeared from May 12 to 28. Spatially, thermal anomalies occurred to the south of the epicentre in the area with the maximum secular block motion before the earthquake, and the methane anomalies occurred along the Longmenshan Fault as well as the south of the epicentre. The Granger causality results indicate that change in crustal stress caused the thermal anomalies, creating the escaping channels for the underground gases, and then lead to the methane anomalies. In terms of the lag of the methane anomalies, the methane anomalies are unlikely to have been the main cause of the thermal anomalies. However, in the area with large block motion before the earthquake and in the surface rupture area, the methane anomalies may have also influenced the local temperature.

很少有研究确定与地震有关的热异常与甲烷异常之间的关系。在这项研究中，国家环境预测中心（NCEP）的空气温度数据和大气红外测深仪（AIRS）的总列CH ₄利用这些数据提取2008年汶川地震前的热异常和甲烷浓度异常。然后，使用格兰杰因果关系检验来支持或反驳一些描述热异常与甲烷异常之间关系的猜想。结果表明，热异常出现于2008年5月5日至14日，甲烷异常出现于5月12日至28日。地震前，地震活动发生在震中中心以南的区域，其长期的块状运动最大，甲烷异常发生在龙门山断裂带及震中以南。格兰杰因果关系结果表明，地壳应力的变化引起了热异常，为地下气体形成了逃逸通道，然后导致了甲烷异常。就甲烷异常的滞后而言，甲烷异常不太可能是热异常的主要原因。但是，在地震前大块运动的区域和地表破裂区域，甲烷异常也可能影响了局部温度。