Global and Local Effects of Seismic Activity in the Ionosphere

Abstract

Ionospheric effects of powerful seismic events are studied using total electron content (TEC) maps of the ionosphere (http://www.aiub.unibe.ch/download/CODE/) for the northern hemisphere, with the exception of the polar region, in the winter seasons of 2012–2018. It is shown that seismic ionospheric effect is a global effect superimposed by local effects above epicenters of individual earthquakes (EQs). Temporal TEC variations at the time of strong EQs at a large distance from their epicenters (global effect) consist of the two maxima: a precursor maximum and an aftershock maximum. Only a precursor maximum is usually recorded in TEC variations over the EQ epicenter (local effect), the amplitude of which at night (on average 8%) is about twice as high as that observed during day. The reduced amplitude values are observed always (locally and globally) for several days after a positive surge in TEC. The region of the maximum amplitude of the seismic ionospheric effect belongs to the middle latitudes, especially the range of 35° N–40° N latitudes, and, within this range, at longitudes near 30° W (Mid-Atlantic ridge) and 140° E–150° E (Japanese islands and adjacent waters of the Pacific Ocean). Latitudinal amplitude maxima of the seismic ionospheric effect agree well with the latitudinal maxima of the number of EQs in both geographic and geomagnetic coordinate systems. Changes in the number of EQs and, consequently, the ionospheric effect on geomagnetic coordinates are more organized, which is indicative of a substantial impact on seismicity of the same processes at the boundary of the liquid core and lower mantle that form the Earth’s magnetic field. In addition to seismic belts and zones of midocean ridges, an increase in TEC has been recorded along the so-called “lineaments” that mark the weakened zones of the Earth’s crust with increased flows of deep gases. The correspondence between the spatial features of seismicity and the seismic ionospheric effect gives evidence in favor of the radon mechanism of lithosphere–ionosphere coupling and indirectly confirms the role of deep gases in the formation of planetary features of seismicity.