Solar Activity,Galactic Cosmic Ray Variations,and the Global Seismicity of the Earth

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - A comparative analysis of the correlation between the number of strong (magnitude M ≥ 5.0), crustal (hypocenter depth 0 ≤ h ≤ 60 km) earthquakes per...     

Estimation of the Ionospheric Effects of Geomagnetic Disturbances Based on Data from Wakkanai Station

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - Ionosonde measurements of the critical frequency of the ionospheric F2 layer (foF2) at Wakkanai station (Japan) are analyzed with the method of superposed epochs. The...     

Changes in the ionosphere prior to weak earthquakes in the Irkutsk region

Data from 15-minute measurements at the vertical ionospheric sounding station in Irkutsk during the summer months of 2008–2011 are analyzed in order to detect in the ionosphere effects of preparation of weak earthquakes of the K = 10–12 energy class. The method of revealing disturbances in ionospheric parameters by simultaneous observations of the sporadic E layer and regular F2 layer, which was previously applied by the authors in the case of stronger earthquakes, was used. The efficiency of using this method to detect ionospheric disturbances preceding earthquakes also in the case of weak earthquakes is demonstrated. Possible ionospheric precursors of the selected series of earthquakes are identified. For them, an empirical dependence relating the time of advance of the shock moment by the probable ionospheric precursor on the energy class of the earthquake and the epicenter distance to the observation point is found.     

Variations of the critical frequency <Emphasis Type="Italic">foF</Emphasis>2 at middle latitudes during strong disturbance in the electric field observed in the <Emphasis Type="Italic">F</Emphasis> region over saint-santin

Morphological analysis of variations of the critical frequency foF2 in the midlatitude ionosphere at various sectors of local time is carried out on the basis of data from ground-based stations of vertical sounding of the ionosphere in the period when during use of the incoherent scatter radar at Saint-Santin an anomalously strong increase in the electric field was observed at heights of the ionospheric F region in the period of enhanced geomagnetic activity (4+ < Kp < 6−). The obtained picture of the space-time distribution of disturbances in foF2 makes it possible to assume that they could be caused by penetration to middle latitudes of the large-scale electric field of the magnetospheric convection directed westward in the nighttime and morning hours and eastward in the noon and evening sectors.     

Analysis of seismoionospheric disturbances at the Chain of Japanese stations for vertical sounding of the ionosphere

Seismoionospheric disturbances in the parameters of the ionospheric F ₂ and sporadic E layers at the chain of the Japanese stations for vertical sounding of the ionosphere before strong crustal earthquakes with M>6.5 during the period from 1968 to 1992 have been considered. The dependence of the disturbance time of appearance in the ionospheric parameters on the earthquake magnitude and epicentral distance, obtained for each specific earthquake using the selected series of ionospheric stations, made it possible to consider these disturbances among medium-term precursors of earthquakes. The velocity of the disturbance front apparent motion has been determined based on the model of horizontal radially-isotropic disturbance propagation from the projection of the impending earthquake epicenter to the ionospheric altitudes. The conclusion has been made that the distinguished seismoionospheric disturbances follow the boundary of the earthquake preparation region, expanding on the Earth’s surface.     

Regularities in the manifestation of earthquake precursors in the ionosphere and near-surface atmospheric electric fields in Kamchatka

The data of hourly measurements of ionospheric parameters in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsk are analyzed for the period 1998–2002. In the vertical component of near-surface atmospheric quasistatic electric field Ez, earthquake precursors in the form of anomalous negative bays have been found earlier. In some cases, anomalously high sporadic layer Es, interpreted as an ionospheric precursor of an earthquake, was observed simultaneously with anomalous negative bays in Ez. All these cases were correlated with earthquakes of different magnitudes which occurred with a significant time delay (more than five days) after the precursor appearance. Based on the whole data set (including those for simultaneously measured Es and Ez), empirical dependences linking the prediction time of a precursor, earthquake magnitudes, and the distance from the observation point to the epicenter, are presented. It is shown that these dependences are close to those obtained earlier for long-term earthquake precursors in near-surface geophysical fields of the same seismoactive region. Estimates of the prediction time for earthquake precursors on the boundaries of preparation zones are presented.     

Analytical Model of a Seismogenic Electric Field According to Data of Measurements in the Surface Layer of the Midlatitude Atmosphere and Calculation of Its Magnitude at the Ionospheric Level

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - Perturbations of the vertical component of an electric field of seismogenic origin near the Earth’s surface prior to some earthquakes are modeled analytically...     

Comparative analysis of disturbances in the midlatitude ionospheric F 2 layer during strong and extreme magnetic storms in March 2001 according to the data from magnetically conjugate ground ionospheric stations

Ionospheric disturbances at heights of the F ₂ layer maximum during the strong magnetic storm (the minimum value of the Dst index was ?149 nT) and the magnetic superstorm (the minimum value of the Dst index was ?387 nT) have been compared based on the data from two pairs of magnetically conjugate midlatitude ground stations for ionospheric vertical sounding. The storms began on March 19, 2001, and March 31, 2001, respectively. It has been obtained that almost only negative ionospheric disturbances were observed in the Northern and Southern hemispheres in both cases. The maximum effect in changes in the layer critical frequency (foF2) in both hemispheres has a time delay relative to the moment of the maximum disturbance in the Dst index on the order of 3–4 h for the strong storm and about 1 h for the superstorm. The disturbed variations in the foF2 critical frequency in different hemispheres correlate well with each other in the plane of one magnetic meridian, but the correlation substantially weakens at different magnetic longitudes. An assumption is made that the revealed features of the behavior of the disturbed midlatitude ionospheric F ₂ layer are caused by the complex character of the thermospheric response to the energy release in the auroral zone during the considered magnetic storms.     

Possible Short-Term Precursors of Strong Crustal Earthquakes in Japan based on Data from the Ground Stations of Vertical Ionospheric Sounding

We have studied changes in the ionosphere prior to strong crustal earthquakes with magnitudes of М ≥ 6.5 based on the data from the ground-based stations of vertical ionospheric sounding Kokobunji, Akita, and Wakkanai for the period 1968–2004. The data are analyzed based on hourly measurements of the virtual height and frequency parameters of the sporadic E layer and critical frequency of the regular F2 layer over the course of three days prior to the earthquakes. In the studied intervals of time before all earthquakes, anomalous changes were discovered both in the frequency parameters of the Es and F2 ionospheric layers and in the virtual height of the sporadic E layer; the changes were observed on the same day at stations spaced apart by several hundred kilometers. A high degree of correlation is found between the lead-time of these ionospheric anomalies preceding the seismic impact and the magnitude of the subsequent earthquakes. It is concluded that such ionospheric disturbances can be short-term ionospheric precursors of earthquakes.     

Estimation of a Tropospheric Electric Field Associated with the African Zone of Thunderstorm Activity that Penetrates the Ionosphere

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - The penetration of the nighttime ionosphere by electric fields in the African zone of thunderstorm activity is studied based on calculations. These fields are caused by...