Abstract
We analyse Swarm satellite magnetic field and electron density data one month before and one month after 12 strong earthquakes that have occurred in the first 2.5 years of Swarm satellite mission lifetime in the Mediterranean region (magnitude M6.1+) or in the rest of the world (M6.7+). The search for anomalies was limited to the area centred at each earthquake epicentre and bounded by a circle that scales with magnitude according to the Dobrovolsky’s radius. We define the magnetic and electron density anomalies statistically in terms of specific thresholds with respect to the same statistical quantity along the whole residual satellite track (|geomagnetic latitude| ≤ 50°, quiet geomagnetic conditions). Once normalized by the analysed satellite tracks, the anomalies associated to all earthquakes resemble a linear dependence with earthquake magnitude, so supporting the statistical correlation with earthquakes and excluding a relationship by chance.
Highlights
The ionosphere is the ionized part of the atmosphere extending from about 50 to 1000 km above the terrestrial surface
Concerning lithospheric processes, it is currently consolidated that large earthquakes (EQ) trigger co-seismic ionospheric disturbances, known as seismo-travelling ionospheric disturbances (STIDs) that propagate like a circular wave from the projection of the epicenter into the ionosphere
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Summary
The ionosphere is the ionized part of the atmosphere extending from about 50 to 1000 km above the terrestrial surface. Ionospheric features vary according to geographic latitude and longitude, time of the day, season and altitude (e.g., [3]). Besides these regular variations, ionosphere is sensitive to forcing from above, i.e., by magnetospheric. Concerning lithospheric processes, it is currently consolidated that large earthquakes (EQ) trigger co-seismic ionospheric disturbances, known as seismo-travelling ionospheric disturbances (STIDs) that propagate like a circular wave from the projection of the epicenter into the ionosphere. We are interested on the possibility that the ionosphere is affected by a great earthquake (EQ), after, and before its occurrence, i.e., on what is called Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Ionosphere Coupling, or LAIC (e.g., [13,14])
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