Localization of the source of ionospheric disturbance generated during an earthquake

Abstract

For the first time a method is developed of localization of the source and determinationof the characteristics of wave disturbances generated during earthquakes. In the methodthe disturbances in the total electron content registered at the GPS receiver network areconsidered as a set of signals of a nonequidistant phased grating of “ionospheric detectors”with known coordinates. As a result of solution of the equation system for the plane andspherical front relative to the measured parameters of the disturbance, the phase velocityof the wave disturbance and also the position and time of switching on of the sourceare determined. It is found that the ionospheric disturbances generated during strongearthquakes have the form of a spherical wave diverging with a velocity of ∼1000 m s