Study on Electron Density Anomalies Possibly Related to Earthquakes Based on CSES Observations

Abstract

This research examines the correlation between seismic activity and variations in ionospheric electron density (Ne) using the data from the Langmuir probe (LAP) onboard the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES) during nighttime. Statistical analysis of Ms ≥ 6.8 earthquakes that occurred globally between August 2018 and March 2023 is conducted, as well as Ms ≥ 6.0 earthquakes in China during the same period, using the quartile analysis method for fixed revisiting orbits. The main conclusions are that: (1) the larger the magnitude of the earthquake, the more anomalous the phenomena that appear; (2) the anomalies on the east side of the epicenter are significantly higher than those on the west side, and the anomalies in the Northern Hemisphere are mostly distributed southward from the epicenter, while those in the Southern Hemisphere are mostly distributed northward from the epicenter; (3) anomalies appear with a higher frequency on several specific time intervals, including the day of the earthquake (likely co-seismic effect) and 2, 7, and 11 days before the earthquake (possible precursor candidates); and (4) for the 15 earthquakes of Ms ≥ 6.0 in China over the past five years, anomalous Ne mainly occurred southwest of the epicenter, with the highest frequency observed 5 days before the earthquake, and there were continuous anomalous phenomena between 9 days and 5 days before the earthquake. This study concludes that Ne, measured by CSES, can play a fundamental role in studying earthquake-related ionospheric disturbances.