Abstract. Many scientists from different disciplines have studied earthquakes for many
years. As a result of these studies, it has been proposed that some changes
take place in the ionosphere layer before, during or after earthquakes, and
that the ionosphere should be monitored in earthquake prediction studies.
This study investigates the changes in the ionosphere created by the
earthquake with a magnitude of Mw=7.2 in the northwest of Lake
Erçek, which is located to the north of the province of Van in Turkey on
23 October 2011 and at 13:41 local time (−3 UT) with the epicenter of
38.75∘ N, 43.36∘ E using the TEC values obtained by the
global ionosphere models (GIMs) created by IONOLAB-TEC and CODE. In order to
see whether the ionospheric changes obtained by the study in question were
caused by the earthquake or not, the ionospheric conditions were studied by
utilizing indices providing information on solar and geomagnetic activities
(F10.7 cm, Kp, Dst). One of the results of the statistical test of the TEC values obtained from
both models is positive and negative anomalies obtained for the times before,
on the day of and after the earthquake, and the reasons for these anomalies
are discussed in detail in the last section of the study. As the ionospheric
conditions on the analyzed days were highly variable, it was thought that the
anomalies were caused by geomagnetic effects, solar activity and the
earthquake.
Monitoring potential ionospheric changes caused by the Van earthquake (<i>M</i><sub>w</sub>7.2)
