Lithosphere atmosphere ionosphere coupling associated with the 2019 Mw 7.1 California earthquake using GNSS and multiple satellites

• Published in: Environmental monitoring and assessment Vol. 193; no. 8; p. 501
• Main Authors: Mehdi, Saqib, Shah, Munawar, Naqvi, Najam Abbas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.08.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Anomalies; Atmosphere; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Breeding; Coupling; Earth and Environmental Science; Earthquake prediction; Earthquakes; Ecology; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Management; Environmental monitoring; Environmental science; Geomagnetic storms; Geomagnetism; Global navigation satellite system; Ionosphere; Ionospheric variations; Lithosphere; Magnetic storms; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Navigation; Navigation satellites; Navigation systems; Navigational satellites; Perturbation; Precursors; Regions; Satellites; Seismic activity; Storms; Sulfur dioxide; Sulphates; Total Electron Content; Troposphere; United States > US; California; GNSS TEC; Earthquake; LAIC coupling; Ionosphere; Troposphere
• ISSN: 0167-6369; 1573-2959
• DOI: 10.1007/s10661-021-09278-6

Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)–based Earthquake (EQ) anomalies in the ionosphere and troposphere provide explicit evidences to study the coupling between seismic events, atmosphere, and ionosphere in epicentral breeding regions consequent to the EQ day in the preparation period. EQs are still not predicted, but the space-based EQ anomalies aid in the development of monitoring pre- and post-seismic precursors around the seismogenic zone and associated fault lineament regions. In this paper, tropospheric and ionospheric anomalies are investigated for the July 06, 2019, M w 7.1 California EQ from GNSS tropospheric delays and Total Electron Content (TEC), respectively. We noticed that atmospheric and ionospheric anomalies from GNSS stations within 5–10 days before the main shock and storm-induced ionospheric variations occur beyond the 5th day after the EQ. Similarly, synchronized and collocated lower atmospheric anomalies are also recorded in the long-term temporal values of SO 2 and SO 4 within 1-month before and after July 2019, which validates the existence of Lithosphere-Atmosphere–Ionosphere Coupling (LAIC) over the EQ epicenter. On the other hand, EQ anomalies occur during quiet geomagnetic storm activity (K p  < 3; D st  < − 20 nT) and geomagnetic storm triggered high-intensity ionospheric variations during K p  > 3. All these atmospheric and ionospheric perturbations support the development in EQ precursors with satellite measurements, which are indispensable towards the forecasting of future EQ.