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Seismo-ionospheric precursor of the 2008 Mw7.9 Wenchuan earthquake observed by FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC

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Abstract

The seismo-ionospheric precursor prior to the Mw7.9 earthquake near Wenchuan, China, on 12 May 2008 was observed by the FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC satellite constellation. By binning radio occultation observations, the three-dimensional ionospheric structure can be obtained to monitor the ionospheric electron density variation prior to the earthquake. It has been determined that near the epicenter the F2-peak height, hmF2, descends about 25 km and the F2-peak electron density, NmF2, decreases about 2 × 105 el/cm3 around noon within 5 days prior to the earthquake. The integrated electron content decreases more than 2 TECU between 250 and 300 km altitude.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC operation team in National Space Organization (NSPO) for operating the satellite constellation. NSPO is supported by the National Science Council of Taiwan. The authors wish to thank the editor and reviewer for their constructive comments and useful suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Space Organization, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan

    Chun-Chieh Hsiao, N. L. Yen, S. S. Chen & J. J. Miau

  2. Institute of Space Science, National Central University, Chung-Li, Taiwan

    J. Y. Liu, K.-I. Oyama & Y. A. Liou

  3. Center for Space and Remote Sensing Research, National Central University, Chung-Li, Taiwan

    J. Y. Liu & Y. A. Liou

Authors
  1. Chun-Chieh Hsiao
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  2. J. Y. Liu
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  3. K.-I. Oyama
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  4. N. L. Yen
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  5. Y. A. Liou
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  6. S. S. Chen
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  7. J. J. Miau
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chun-Chieh Hsiao.

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Hsiao, CC., Liu, J.Y., Oyama, KI. et al. Seismo-ionospheric precursor of the 2008 Mw7.9 Wenchuan earthquake observed by FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC. GPS Solut 14, 83–89 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10291-009-0129-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10291-009-0129-0

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