Bath Could Give Earthquake Warnings

A tin bath on the cliffs of northern Iceland, where locals take a dip to treat skin complaints, could help scientists give an early warning of big earthquakes and save thousands of lives.

Scientists hope that measuring the changes in its chemical balance will provide a countdown to a quake, something thought impossible until now.

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake which struck the Tjornes Fracture Zone near Husavik, Iceland's whale-watching capital, in September 2002 showed just such changes.

"There was a huge peak in the concentration of some chemicals in the water -- some went up 1,000 percent before the earthquake," said Lillemor Claesson from Stockholm University and the Nordic Volcanological Center in Reykjavik.

Other scientists are skeptical, saying it doesn't provide enough specific information about magnitude, location and time.