AbstractAn analytical model of the vertical acoustic resonance between the thermosphere and the earth's surface and its geomagnetic effect has been constructed. Resonance with a frequency of several mHz occurs when an atmospheric acoustic wave (AW) is excited by vibrations of the earth or ocean surface. The derived analytical relationships give a possibility to examine the dependence of the fundamental resonant frequency on the height of the reflecting atmospheric layer and horizontal AW number. Geomagnetic disturbances caused by the impact of AW on the ionosphere are calculated within the framework of a multi‐layered model of the ground‐atmosphere‐ionosphere system. The E‐layer of the ionosphere is treated in the approximation of a thin layer with an inclined geomagnetic field, while the topside ionosphere is assumed to consist of a cold collisionless plasma. The dependence of the spectral power of magnetic perturbations on the direction of the horizontal AW propagation is examined. The magnetic perturbation spectra are shown to have maxima at frequencies close to the acoustic resonance frequency. The spectral powers of magnetic perturbations and barometric variations measured during the Iwate‐Miyagi Nairik earthquake are in accordance with the model predictions for realistic media and AW parameters. Field‐aligned currents that arise when AWs enter the ionospheric E‐layer is shown to carry measurable electromagnetic disturbances into the geomagnetically conjugated region.