scholarly journals Suspected Seismo-Ionospheric Anomalies before Three Major Earthquakes Detected by GIMs and GPS TEC of Permanent Stations

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Yanfeng Dong ◽  
Chengfa Gao ◽  
Fengyang Long ◽  
Yuxiang Yan

Many studies have reported that there is a coupling mechanism between ionosphere and earthquake (EQ). Ionospheric anomalies in the form of abnormal increases and decreases of ionospheric Total Electron Content (TEC) are even regarded as precursors to EQs. In this paper, TEC anomalies associated with three major EQs were investigated by Global Ionospheric Maps (GIMs) and GPS-TEC, including Kumamoto-shi, Japan—EQ occurred on 15 April 2016 with Mw = 7.0; Jinghe, China—EQ occurred on 8 August 2017 with Mw = 6.3; and Lagunas, Peru—EQ occurred on 26 May 2019 with Mw = 8.0. It was found that the negative ionospheric anomalies linger above or near the epicenter for 4–10 h on the day of the EQ. For each EQ, the 10-min sampling interval of TEC was extracted from three permanent GPS stations around the epicenter within 10 days before and after the EQ. Variations of TEC manifest that the negative ionospheric anomalies first appear 10 days before the EQ. From 5 days before to 2 days after the main shock, the negative ionospheric anomalies were more prominent than the other days, with the amplitude of negative ionospheric anomaly reaching −3 TECu and the relative ionospheric anomaly exceeding 20%. In case of Kumamoto-shi EQ, the solar-geomagnetic conditions were not quiet (Dst < −30 nT, Kp > 4, and F10.7 > 100 SFU) on the suspected EQ days. We discussed the differences between ionospheric anomalies caused by active solar-geomagnetic conditions and EQ. Combining the analysis results of Jinghe EQ and Lagunas EQ, under quiet solar-geomagnetic conditions (Dst > −30 nT, Kp < 4, and F10.7 < 100 SFU), it can be found that TEC responds to various solar-geomagnetic conditions and EQ differently. The negative ionospheric anomalies could be considered as significant signals of upcoming EQs. These anomalies under different solar-geomagnetic conditions may be effective to link the lithosphere and ionosphere in severe seismic zones to detect EQ precursors before future EQs.

2021 ◽  
Vol 95 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiaojiao Zhao ◽  
Manuel Hernández-Pajares ◽  
Zishen Li ◽  
Ningbo Wang ◽  
Hong Yuan

AbstractAside from the ionospheric total electron content (TEC) information, root-mean-square (RMS) maps are also provided as the standard deviations of the corresponding TEC errors in global ionospheric maps (GIMs). As the RMS maps are commonly used as the accuracy indicator of GIMs to optimize the stochastic model of precise point positioning algorithms, it is of crucial importance to investigate the reliability of RMS maps involved in GIMs of different Ionospheric Associated Analysis Centers (IAACs) of the International GNSS Service (IGS), i.e., the integrity of GIMs. We indirectly analyzed the reliability of RMS maps by comparing the actual error of the differential STEC (dSTEC) with the RMS of the dSTEC derived from the RMS maps. With this method, the integrity of seven rapid IGS GIMs (UQRG, CORG, JPRG, WHRG, EHRG, EMRG, and IGRG) and six final GIMs (UPCG, CODG, JPLG, WHUG, ESAG and IGSG) was examined under the maximum and minimum solar activity conditions as well as the geomagnetic storm period. The results reveal that the reliability of the RMS maps is significantly different for the GIMs from different IAACs. Among these GIMs, the values in the RMS maps of UQRG are large, which can be used as ionospheric protection level, while the RMS values in EHRG and ESAG are significantly lower than the realistic RMS. The rapid and final GIMs from CODE, JPL and WHU provide quite reasonable RMS maps. The bounding performance of RMS maps can be influenced by the location of the stations, while the influence of solar activity and the geomagnetic storm is not obvious.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-20
Author(s):  
Zahid Ur Rahman

The recent advances in space based ionospheric measurements can help to investigate seismic precursors before earthquake with multi-parameter observations and more dedicated instrumentations. In this paper, seismo ionospheric anomalies before the December 25, 2016, Mw 7.6, Chile earthquake are investigated in Total Electron Content (TEC) and Global Ionosphere Map (GIM). The temporal TEC from GPS stations and GIM show enhancement during 5- 10 days (local daytime) before main shock. Similarly, spatial TEC confirms abnormal dense cloud at LT=12h-14h on December 21, 2016, that lingers over the epicenter of Chile earthquake. On the other hand, the geomagnetic indices show Dst < -50nT of low intensity variation. Similarly, Kp > 3 on December 21, 2016 within 5-10 days before the Mw 7.6. This study emphasizes that the ionosphere anomalies may not be the possible association of earthquakes induced variation but it is due to the active storm conditions (Kp>3).


Geosciences ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Christina Oikonomou ◽  
Haris Haralambous ◽  
Sergey Pulinets ◽  
Aakriti Khadka ◽  
Shukra R. Paudel ◽  
...  

The purpose of the present study is to investigate simultaneously pre-earthquake ionospheric and atmospheric disturbances by the application of different methodologies, with the ultimate aim to detect their possible link with the impending seismic event. Three large earthquakes in Mexico are selected (8.2 Mw, 7.1 Mw and 6.6 Mw during 8 and 19 September 2017 and 21 January 2016 respectively), while ionospheric variations during the entire year 2017 prior to 37 earthquakes are also examined. In particular, Total Electron Content (TEC) retrieved from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) networks and Atmospheric Chemical Potential (ACP) variations extracted from an atmospheric model are analyzed by performing statistical and spectral analysis on TEC measurements with the aid of Global Ionospheric Maps (GIMs), Ionospheric Precursor Mask (IPM) methodology and time series and regional maps of ACP. It is found that both large and short scale ionospheric anomalies occurring from few hours to a few days prior to the seismic events may be linked to the forthcoming events and most of them are nearly concurrent with atmospheric anomalies happening during the same day. This analysis also highlights that even in low-latitude areas it is possible to discern pre-earthquake ionospheric disturbances possibly linked with the imminent seismic events.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fuying Zhu ◽  
Yingchun Jiang

Abstract With the rapid development of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and its wide applications to atmospheric science research, the global ionosphere map (GIM) total electron content (TEC) data are extensively used as a potential tool to detect ionospheric disturbances related to seismic activity and they are frequently used to statistically study the relation between the ionosphere and earthquakes (EQs). Indeed, due to the distribution of ground based GPS receivers is very sparse or absent in large areas of ocean, the GIM-TEC data over oceans are results of interpolation between stations and extrapolation in both space and time, and therefore, they are not suitable for studying the marine EQs. In this paper, based on the GIM-TEC data, a statistical investigation of ionospheric TEC variations of 15 days before and after the 276 M ≥ 6.0 inland EQs is undertaken. After eliminating the interference of geomagnetic activities, the spatial and temporal distributions of the ionospheric TEC disturbances before and after the EQs are investigated and compared. There are no particularly distinct features in the time distribution of the ionospheric TEC disturbances before the inland EQs. However, there are some differences in the spatial distribution, and the biggest difference is precisely in the epicenter area. On the other hand, the occurrence rates of ionospheric TEC disturbances within 5 days before the EQs are overall higher than those after EQs, in addition both of them slightly increase with the earthquake magnitude. These results suggest that the anomalous variations of the GIM-TEC before the EQs might be related to the seismic activities.


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