The response of global seismicity to solar flares of September, 2017

Abstract

Results of an analysis of interrelation between powerful solar flares of September, 2017 and global seismic activity are presented. It was found that during the period of solar flares and one week after it the number of earthquakes rises by up to 100%. We attribute the obtained results to earthquake triggering effects of solar flares. A possibility of electric/electromagnetic triggering of earthquakes due to space weather disturbances is supported by results of field and laboratory experiments, where earthquakes (both natural and laboratory) were initiated by injection of electrical current into the Earth crust or simulated seismogenic fault. For the case of man-made electric earthquake triggering the current density at the depth of earthquake sources is comparable with estimations of a density of telluric currents induced by variation of space weather conditions due to solar flares.