Satellite monitoring of anomalous effects in the ionosphere related to the great Wenchuan earthquake of May 12, 2008 |
| |
Authors: | Shivalika Sarkar A K Gwal |
| |
Affiliation: | (1) Space Science Laboratory, Department of Physics, Barkatullah University, Bhopal, 462026, India |
| |
Abstract: | In this paper, we present an investigation into plasma density disturbances and electric field perturbations associated with
China, Sichuan, Wenchuan earthquake of magnitude M = 7.9 that occurred on May 12, 2008, at 06:28:01 UTC. The DEMETER (Detection
of Electromagnetic Emissions Transmitted from Earthquake Regions) satellite was launched on June 29, 2004. The orbit of DEMETER
is polar, circular with an altitude of 710 km and its main scientific objective is the study of ionospheric perturbations
linked to seismic activity. For satellite orbits near the epicenter region, some ionospheric effects are investigated, which
can be considered as possible earthquake precursors. The paper discusses anomalous effects in the ionosphere associated with
the Wenchuan earthquake, which cannot be explained by factors of solar-magnetospheric origin. For satellite orbits eight to
four days before the main shock, fluctuations in ion density and increase in horizontal and vertical components of electric
field are observed near the epicenter. Post-effect is observed too. The observations suggest a coupling between the lithosphere-atmosphere-ionosphere
and can be associated with the earthquake growing processes in the lithosphere and troposphere zones above the source. The
results of ionospheric anomalous effects are presented and discussed. The results obtained are important because they are
observed very near to epicenter. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|