On Solar-Terrestrial Interactions: Correlation Between Intense Geomagnetic Storms and Global Strong Earthquakes

Abstract

Solar-terrestrial interactions are a topic of considerable interest and attention. In this paper, we introduce a new method called shift neighborhood matching correlation (SNMC) to investigate the relationship between geomagnetic storms and earthquakes across various time lags. To assess the significance of the correlations, we employ random sampling series to replace one or both of the time series. Analyzing nearly a century of data, our results reveal an increased likelihood of earthquakes following geomagnetic storms, particularly 27–28 days afterward. Conventional statistical methods confirm the significance of this correlation. However, when earthquakes are replaced with random series, the statistical significance derived from the SNMC method diminishes, highlighting the intrinsic properties of geomagnetic storm phenomena. We discuss two potential physical mechanisms to explain the correlations. While the earthquake probability gains solely based on geomagnetic storms is insufficient for reliable prediction, it may be useful in the integrated multi-geophysical predictive models.