Abstract
Changes in deviations from the background values of the parameters of the sporadic E ionosphere (Es) are studied: the effective (virtual) height h'Es and limiting reflection frequency (foEs). Basically, the analysis was carried based on hourly measurement data from several Japanese ground stations for vertical sounding of the ionosphere in order to identify possible short-term ionospheric earthquake precursors with intermediate (from 60 to 300 km) hypocentral depths. All known events (12 earthquakes, from 1969 to 2022) are considered for which the necessary ionospheric data in the Japan region and magnitudes (M) ranging from 6.5 to 7.6 are available. From coincidence of the maxima in changes in the considered Es characteristics on the same day at pairs of stations separated by hundreds of kilometers, the time of appearance of possible ionospheric earthquake precursors was recorded. According to the ionospheric data available during the preparation period for the studied earthquakes, a tendency has been identified according to which the time the moment of the main influence is anticipated depends on the magnitude of the impending earthquake. Similarities and differences in the responses of the ionosphere to the preparation of surface (crustal) earthquakes and earthquakes with an intermediate hypocentral depth are revealed. Another tendency is also revealed: earlier appearance of the identified earthquake precursors with increasing hypocentral depth for earthquakes with an intermediate hypocentral depth at the same distances from the epicenter to the observation point.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Aprodov, V.A., Zony zemletryasenii (The Zones of Earthquakes), Moscow: Mysl’, 2000.
Bychkov, V.V., Korsunova, L.P., Smirnov, S.E., and Hegai, V.V., Atmospheric anomalies and anomalies of electricity in the near-surface atmosphere before the Kamchatka earthquake of January 30, 2016, based on the data from the Paratunka observatory, Geomagn. Aeron. (Engl. Transl.), 2017, vol. 57, no. 4, pp. 491–499. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793217040053
Chavdarov, S.S., Chasovitin, Yu.K., Chernysheva, S.P., and Sheftel’, V.M., Sredneshirotnyi sporadicheskii sloi E ionosfery (The Midlatitude Sporadic E-Layer of the Ionosphere), Moscow: Nauka, 1975.
Dabas, R.S., Das, R.M., Sharma, K., and Pillai, K.G.M., Ionospheric precursors observed over low latitudes during some of the recent major earthquakes, J. Atmos. Sol.-Terr. Phys., 2007, vol. 69, no. 15, pp. 1813–1824. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2007.09.005
Dobrovolsky, I.P., Zubkov, S.I., and Miachkin, V.I., Estimation of the size of earthquake preparation zones, Pure Appl. Geophys., 1979, vol. 117, no. 5, pp. 1025–1044. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00876083
Hegai, V., Zeren, Z., and Pulinets, S., Seismogenic field in the ionosphere before two powerful earthquakes: Possible magnitude and observed ionospheric effects (case study), Atmosphere, 2023, vol. 14, no. 5, p. 819. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14050819
Korsunova, L.P. and Legen’ka, A.D., Detection of possible short-term ionospheric precursors of strong earthquakes based on changes in diurnal Es characteristics, Geomagn. Aeron. (Engl. Transl.), 2021, vol. 61, no. 6, pp. 896–904. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793221050066
Korsunova, L.P. and Khegai, V.V., Possible short-term precursors of strong crustal earthquakes in Japan based on data from the ground stations of vertical ionospheric sounding, Geomagn. Aeron. (Engl. Transl.), 2018, vol. 58, no. 1, pp. 90–97. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793218010085
Korsunova, L.P. and Khegai, V.V., Evaluating the effectiveness of using integral daily Es characteristics to identify short-term ionospheric precursors of strong earthquakes, Geomagn. Aeron. (Engl. Transl.), 2023, vol. 63, no. 2, pp. 197–206. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793222600588
Liu, J.Y., Chen, Y.I., Chuo, Y.J., and Chen, C.S., A statistical investigation of pre-earthquake ionospheric anomaly, J. Geophys. Res., 2006, vol. 111, A05304. https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JA011333
Mikhailov, Yu.M., On the properties of earthquake precursors in the electrostatic field of the surface atmosphere, Izv., Phys. Solid Earth, 2007, vol. 43, no.4, pp. 336–339.
Nestorov, G.T., A possible ionospheric presage of the Vrancha earthquake of March 4, 1977, C. R. Acad. Bulg. Sci., 1979, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 443–446.
Perevalova, N.P., Sankov, V.A., Astafyeva, E.I., and Zhupityaeva, A.S., Threshold magnitude for ionospheric TEC response to earthquakes, J. Atmos. Sol.-Terr. Phys., 2014, vol. 108, pp. 77–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2013.12.014
Perrone, L., Korsunova, L.P., and Mikhailov, A.V., Ionospheric precursors for crustal earthquakes in Italy, Ann. Geophys., 2010, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 941–950. https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-28-941-2010
Pulinets, S.A. and Boyarchuk, K.A., Ionospheric Precursors of Earthquakes, Berlin: Springer, 2005. https://doi.org/10.1007/b137616.
Pulinets, S. and Ouzounov, D., The Possibility of Earthquake Forecasting: Learning from Nature, Bristol: IOP, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1088/978-0-7503-1248-6.
Pulinets, S.A., Uzunov, D.P., Davidenko, D.V., Dudkin, S.A., and Tsadikovskii, E.I., Prognoz zemletryasenii vozmozhen?! (Is the Earthquake Prediction Possible?!), Moscow: Trovant, 2014.
Sarkar, S., Gwal, A.K., and Parrot, M., Ionospheric variations observed by the DEMETER satellite in the mid-latitude region during strong earthquakes, J. Atmos. Sol.-Terr. Phys., 2007, vol. 69, no. 13, pp. 1524–1540. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2007.06.006
Sharma, D.K., Israil, M., Chand, R., Rai, J., Subrahmanya, P., and Garg, S.C., Signature of seismic activities in the F2 region ionospheric electron temperature, J. Atmos. Sol.-Terr. Phys., 2006, vol. 68, no. 6, pp. 691–696. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jastp.2006.01.005
Sidorin, A.Ya., Predvestniki zemletryasenii (Earthquake Precursors), Moscow: Nauka, 1992.
Xia, C., Yang, S., Xu, G., Zhao, B., and Yu, T., Ionospheric anomalies observed by GPS TEC prior to the Qinghai Tibet region earthquakes, Terr. Atmos. Ocean. Sci., 2011, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 177–185. https://doi.org/10.3319/TAO.2010.08.13.01(TibXS)
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors would like to thank the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT, Japan), whose ionospheric data were used in this work, as well as the United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program for access to earthquake data.
Funding
The study was supported by the Basic Scientific Research Program of the State Academy of Sciences on the topic: Study of Solar Activity and Physical Processes in the Sun–Earth System (no. 0037-2014-0003).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
The authors of this work declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note.
Pleiades Publishing remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Korsunova, L.P., Khegai, V.V. Identification of Possible Short-Term Ionospheric Earthquake Precursors for Seismic Events with Intermediate Hypocentrals Depths by Measuring the Standard Parameters of the Mid-Latitude Es Layer. Geomagn. Aeron. 64, 272–279 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793223601011
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016793223601011