Results of meteorological monitoring in Gorny Altai before and after the Chuya earthquake in 2003

Abstract

We consider the dynamics of some meteorological parameters in Gorny Altai from 2000 to 2011. We analyzed the variations in the meteorological parameters related to the strong Chuya earthquake (September 27, 2003). A number of anomalies were revealed in the time series. Before this strong earthquake, the winter temperatures at the nearest meteorological station to the earthquake source increased by 8–10°C (by 2009 they returned to the mean values), while the air humidity in winter decreased. In the winter of 2002, we observed a long negative anomaly in the time series of the atmospheric pressure. At the same time, the decrease in the released seismic energy was replaced by the tendency to its increase. Using wavelet analysis we revealed the synchronism in the dynamics of the atmospheric parameters, variations in the solar and geomagnetic activities, and geodynamic processes. We also discuss the relationship of the atmospheric and geodynamic processes and the comfort conditions of the population in the climate analyzed here.