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Electromagnetic Observations and Their Applications in Earthquake Research

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A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Upper Atmosphere".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2024) | Viewed by 15460

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Xin-Yan Ouyang

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Guest Editor

Institute of Earthquake Forecasting, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing 100036, China
Interests: electromagnetic waves generation and propagation; electromagnetic disturbances related to earthquakes; plasma irregularities
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Xuemin Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Institute of Earthquake Forecasting, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing 100036, China
Interests: seismo-electromagnetics; electromagnetic satellite; plasma physics; radio wave propagation; seismo-ionospheric physics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Peng Han

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Earth and Space Sciences, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
Interests: earthquake forecast; statistical seismology; seismo-electromagnetics; signal processing; micro-seismic monitoring
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Electromagnetic variations associated with the processes of earthquake preparation and occurrence have been reported in many previous studies. The research on these electromagnetic anomaly phenomena has gradually developed to include several cutting-edge and inter-disciplinary topics, mainly including geoelectric field, geomagnetic field, atmospheric electric field, electromagnetic waves/disturbances, and ionospheric perturbations related to earthquakes. These electric/magnetic and ionospheric effects are primarily taken from either passive/active ground-based observations or satellite measurements. With the development of technology, new ground- and space-based facilities can also be used to better understand these earthquake-related electromagnetic effects.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect the recent progress on understanding electric/magnetic and ionospheric disturbances during earthquake preparation and occurrence processes. Studies on background or non-earthquake influences are also welcomed which can supplement our knowledge for the better identification of earthquake anomalies. This Special Issue may contain the following aspects.

Electric or magnetic observations on the ground and studies of their features, waves/disturbances, or potential earthquake applications.
Observations of electromagnetic waves or disturbances in space, and studies of their generation, propagation, or relationships with earthquakes.
Ionospheric observations and studies based on ground receivers, ionosonde or low-Earth-orbit satellites.
Infrared or hyperspectral parameter observations and analyses.
Integrated observations from multi-spheres, and studies on their influence factors.
Low-frequency (ULF/ELF/VLF) electromagnetic wave propagation models and electric/magnetic coupling mechanisms in geospheres.

Dr. Xin-Yan Ouyang
Prof. Dr. Xuemin Zhang
Dr. Peng Han
Guest Editors

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Keywords

electric/magnetic disturbances
electromagnetic waves
ionospheric perturbations
infrared and hyperspectral parameters
earthquakes
multi-sphere coupling (lithosphere–atmosphere–ionosphere coupling)

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Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 7255 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Evaluating Ionospheric Total Electron Content (TEC) Variations as Precursors to Seismic Activity: Insights from the 2024 Noto Peninsula and Nichinan Earthquakes of Japan

by Karan Nayak, Rosendo Romero-Andrade, Gopal Sharma, Charbeth López-Urías, Manuel Edwiges Trejo-Soto and Ana Isela Vidal-Vega

Atmosphere 2024, 15(12), 1492; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15121492 - 14 Dec 2024

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1541

Abstract

This study provides a comprehensive investigation into ionospheric perturbations associated with the Mw 7.5 earthquake on the Noto Peninsula in January 2024, utilizing data from the International GNSS Service (IGS) network. Focusing on Total Electron Content (TEC), the analysis incorporates spatial mapping and temporal pattern assessments over a 30-day period before the earthquake. The time series for TEC at the closest station to the epicenter, USUD, reveals a localized decline, with a significant negative anomaly exceeding 5 TECU observed 22 and 23 days before the earthquake, highlighting the potential of TEC variations as seismic precursors. Similar patterns were observed at a nearby station, MIZU, strengthening the case for a seismogenic origin. Positive anomalies were linked to intense space weather episodes, while the most notable negative anomalies occurred under geomagnetically calm conditions, further supporting their seismic association. Using Kriging interpolation, the anomaly zone was shown to closely align with the earthquake’s epicenter. To assess the consistency of TEC anomalies in different seismic events, the study also examines the Mw 7.1 Nichinan earthquake in August 2024. The results reveal a prominent negative anomaly, reinforcing the reliability of TEC depletions in seismic precursor detection. Additionally, spatial correlation analysis of Pearson correlation across both events demonstrates that TEC coherence diminishes with increasing distance, with pronounced correlation decay beyond 1000–1600 km. This spatial decay, consistent with Dobrovolsky’s earthquake preparation area, strengthens the association between TEC anomalies and seismic activity. This research highlights the complex relationship between ionospheric anomalies and seismic events, underscoring the value of TEC analysis as tool for earthquake precursor detection. The findings significantly enhance our understanding of ionospheric dynamics related to seismic events, advocating for a comprehensive, multi-station approach in future earthquake prediction efforts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electromagnetic Observations and Their Applications in Earthquake Research)

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18 pages, 4271 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Long Short-Term Memory Recurrent Network Architectures for Electromagnetic Field Reconstruction Based on Underground Observations

by Yixing Tian, Chengliang Xie and Yun Wang

Atmosphere 2024, 15(6), 734; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15060734 - 20 Jun 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1229

Abstract

Deep underground laboratories offer advantages for conducting high-precision observations of weak geophysical signals, benefiting from a low background noise level. Enhancing strong, noisy ground electromagnetic (EM) field data using synchronously recorded underground EM signals, which typically exhibit a high signal-to-noise ratio, is both valuable and feasible. In this study, we propose an EM field reconstruction method employing a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) recurrent neural network with referenced deep underground EM observations. Initially, a deep learning model was developed to capture the time-varying features of underground multi-component EM fields using the LSTM recurrent neural network. Subsequently, this model was applied to process synchronously observed strong, noisy data from other conventional observation systems, such as those at the surface, to achieve noise suppression through signal reconstructions. Both the theoretical analysis and the practical observational data suggest that the proposed method effectively suppresses noise and reconstructs clean EM signals. This method is efficient and time-saving, representing an effective approach to fully utilizing the advantages of deep underground observation data. Furthermore, this method could be extended to the processing and analysis of other geophysical data. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electromagnetic Observations and Their Applications in Earthquake Research)

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Graphical abstract

9 pages, 1904 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Observations and Variability of Near-Surface Atmospheric Electric Fields across Multiple Stations

by Wen Li, Zhibin Sun, Zhaoai Yan and Zhongsong Ma

Atmosphere 2024, 15(1), 124; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15010124 - 19 Jan 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1617

Abstract

The near-surface atmospheric electrostatic field plays a pivotal role in comprehending the global atmospheric circuit model and its influence on climate change. Prior to delving into the intricate interplay between solar activities, geological activities, and atmospheric electric field, a comprehensive examination of the diurnal fair atmospheric electric field’s baseline curve within a specific region is essential. Based on the atmospheric electric field network monitoring in Yunnan Province in the year 2022, this study systematically investigated the distribution of the atmospheric electric field under both fair-weather and disturbed weather conditions at a quadrilateral array encompassing Chuxiong Station, Mouding Station, Lufeng Station, and Dali Station. The primary focus was on elucidating the variations in the daily variation curves of fair atmospheric electric fields and conducting a comparative analysis with the Carnegie curves. The possible reasons for the differences among them are also discussed in this study, but more observational evidence is required to confirm the specific causes in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electromagnetic Observations and Their Applications in Earthquake Research)

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16 pages, 6685 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing Earthquake Forecasting Performance Based on Annual Mobile Geomagnetic Observations in Southwest China

by Zhe Ni, Hongyan Chen, Rui Wang, Miao Miao, Hengxin Ren, Jiehao Yuan, Zhendong Wang, Yufei Zhao and Siyuan Zhou

Atmosphere 2023, 14(12), 1750; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14121750 - 28 Nov 2023

Viewed by 1258

Abstract

There have been reports about anomalies in mobile geomagnetic data before earthquakes; however, whether it can be used as an indicator for identifying potential earthquake areas was not be explored. In this study, we propose two parameters for earthquake forecasting based on annual mobile geomagnetic observation data. The spatial horizontal and three components’ changes are calculated in each year and then used to forecast moderate–large earthquakes (M ≥ 5.0) in southwest China in the subsequent period. It is found that earthquakes are more likely to occur in low H- or F-value regions. We statistically assess their forecasting performance by using Molchan’s error diagram, and the results indicate that there is considerable precursory information in the spatial H and F values. It is concluded that mobile geomagnetic observations might be useful in middle-term earthquake forecasts in the study area. We discuss the physical mechanisms of H and F values to explain their reasonability. The methodology proposed in this study could be helpful in finding out the optimal solution for annual mobile geomagnetic measurements for middle-term earthquake forecasting. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electromagnetic Observations and Their Applications in Earthquake Research)

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19 pages, 11472 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Identification and Analysis of Multi-Station Atmospheric Electric Field Anomalies before the Yangbi Ms 6.4 Earthquake on 21 May 2021

by Lei Nie and Xuemin Zhang

Atmosphere 2023, 14(10), 1579; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14101579 - 19 Oct 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1684

Abstract

This study reports the atmospheric electric field (AEF) anomalies associated with seismic-geological activity recorded by the monitoring network in the Sichuan–Yunnan region of China during the 15–30 days prior to the Yangbi earthquake in Yunnan Province, China, on 21 May 2021. Based on the real-time AEF data from continuous observation, this study summarized the characteristics of the anomalous interference of different meteorological factors on the AEF, compared the simultaneous meteorological data of the AEF anomalies, and ruled out the influence of precipitation, wind, fog, and other weather factors on the AEF anomalies in Yangbi County prior to the Yangbi Ms 6.4 earthquake. The AEF anomalies were identified and extracted from the two-month data from 1 April to 1 June, which were from multiple days, stations, and rupture zones near the 100 km radius from the epicenter of the Yangbi Ms 6.4 main earthquake. Using time series and wavelet transform analysis methods, the obvious common features of the anomalies were summarized, and the homology of the anomalies was verified. The main outcome of the investigation in this study will be used to distinguish and characterize the AEF anomalies associated with pre-seismic geologic activity of non-meteorological elements in the near future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electromagnetic Observations and Their Applications in Earthquake Research)

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24 pages, 5326 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Polarization Method-Based Research on Magnetic Field Data Associated with Earthquakes in Northeast Asia Recorded by the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite

by Muping Yang, Xuemin Zhang, Xinyan Ouyang, Jiang Liu, Geng Qian, Tongxia Li and Xuhui Shen

Atmosphere 2023, 14(10), 1555; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14101555 - 12 Oct 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1561

Abstract

Previous earthquake polarization (as the ratio of vertical and horizontal components) studies using geomagnetic data were all performed with ground data. The advantage of satellite data is that it is not limited by geography. Therefore, in this work, we tried to select 12 typical earthquakes in Northeast Asia with Ms > 5.0 and an epicenter depth ≤ 40 km within the longitude 105° E–145° E and latitude 38° N–58° N ranges from December 2018 to January 2023 for analysis by using the satellite data of the high-precision magnetometer (HPM) payload onboard the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES) for the first time in a quiet magnetic environment. The geomagnetic three-component vector data were investigated, and the minimum study period was divided into 10 s intervals. Fourier transform was performed to obtain 0.01–0.2 Hz geomagnetic three-component dynamic spectra, and the time series of the polarization (as the ratio of vertical and horizontal components) data was then obtained. The average value of the polarization data over four years was used to obtain the time series of the polarization perturbation amplitude, after which joint research was conducted. The results showed that (1) earthquakes with larger magnitudes are more likely to exhibit anomaly perturbations recorded by satellites; (2) among all earthquakes with anomalies, the horizontal east–west component perturbation is the largest, the vertical component perturbation is the smallest, and the east–west component may be the dominant component in seismic anomaly observations; (3) the applicability of the polarization method to space-based earthquake-related data is limited; (4) the perturbation amplitude of polarization data can be used as a reference for extracting seismic anomalies; and (5) ion velocity Vx data from the plasma analyzer package (PAP) can be considered to approximately verify the physical mechanism of the anomaly perturbation of the horizontal component in the ionospheric magnetic field, and the two kinds of data (PAP and HPM) can be combined in seismic prediction research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electromagnetic Observations and Their Applications in Earthquake Research)

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10 pages, 1223 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

A New SLF/ELF Algorithm of Fields Excited by a Radiator in a Soil Foundation in the Earth–Ionosphere Cavity

by Yuanxin Wang, Jutao Yang, Shuji Hao, Jing Chen, Yonggan Liang and Yanshuai Zheng

Atmosphere 2023, 14(9), 1450; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14091450 - 18 Sep 2023

Viewed by 1181

Abstract

Abnormal electromagnetic radiation associated with seismic activity has been reported across a wide range of frequencies, but its primary energy is concentrated in the super-low-frequency (SLF) and extremely low-frequency (ELF) bands. To estimate the effect of the seismic radiation source, a radiator in a soil foundation was modeled as a horizontal electric dipole (HED), and the propagation characteristics of the electromagnetic fields were studied in the Earth–ionosphere cavity. The expressions of the electromagnetic fields could be obtained according to the reciprocity theorem. Therefore, a new algorithm named the numerical integral algorithm was proposed, which is suitable for both the SLF and ELF bands. The new algorithm was compared with the asymptotic approximation algorithm when the receiving point was not close to the field source and the antipode. The two algorithms were found to be in excellent agreement, confirming the validity of the new algorithm for SLF and ELF bands. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electromagnetic Observations and Their Applications in Earthquake Research)

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14 pages, 11000 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Responses to the Preparation of the 2021 M7.4 Madoi Earthquake in the Lithosphere–Atmosphere–Ionosphere System

by Yali Wang, Weiyu Ma, Binbin Zhao, Chong Yue, Peiyu Zhu, Chen Yu and Li Yao

Atmosphere 2023, 14(8), 1315; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14081315 - 20 Aug 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1942

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to investigate the responses of multiple parameters to the Madoi earthquake preparation. A new method is employed to extract anomalies in a geomagnetic field. The results show that there were abnormal changes in the lithosphere, atmosphere, and ionosphere near the epicenter before the earthquake. Despite the differences in spatial and temporal resolutions, the increase in geomagnetic residuals in the lithosphere exhibits similar temporal characteristics to the enhancement of thermal infrared radiation in the atmosphere. Two high–value regions are present in the ground–based geomagnetic high residuals and the ionospheric disturbances. The northern one is around the epicenter of the Madoi earthquake. Near the southern one, an M6.4 Yangbi earthquake occurred four hours before the Madoi earthquake. In this study, we have observed almost all of the physical phenomena that can occur during the preparation of an earthquake, as predicted using the electrostatic channel model. It can be inferred that the electrostatic channel is a possible mechanism for coupling between the lithosphere, atmosphere, and ionosphere during the Madoi earthquake. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electromagnetic Observations and Their Applications in Earthquake Research)

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15 pages, 1445 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Observation of Ultra-Low-Frequency Wave Effects in Possible Association with the Fukushima Earthquake on 21 November 2016, and Lithosphere–Atmosphere–Ionosphere Coupling

by Masashi Hayakawa, Alexander Schekotov, Hiroki Yamaguchi and Yasuhide Hobara

Atmosphere 2023, 14(8), 1255; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14081255 - 7 Aug 2023

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1655

Abstract

The study presents seismogenic ULF (ultra-low-frequency) wave effects, as observed at our own new magnetic observatory at Asahi (geographic coordinates: 35.770° N, 140.695° E) in Chiba Prefecture. Our target earthquake (EQ) is a huge one offshore of Fukushima prefecture (37.353° N, 141.603° E) with a magnitude (M) of 7.4, which occurred at 20.59 h on November 21 UT, 2016. As a sampling frequency of 1 Hz was chosen for our induction magnetometer, we could detect both ULF wave effects: ULF radiation from the lithosphere, and the ULF depression effect, indicative of lower ionospheric perturbations. Observing the results of polarization analyses, we detected clear enhancements in ULF (frequency = 0.01–0.03 Hz) lithospheric radiation 14 days, 5 days, and 1 day before the EQ, and also observed a very obvious phenomenon of ULF (0.01–0.03 Hz) depression just 1 day prior to the EQ, which is regarded as the signature of lower ionospheric perturbations. These findings suggest that pre-EQ seismic activity must be present in the lithosphere, and also that the lower ionosphere was very much perturbed by the precursory effects of the Fukushima EQ. These new observational effects from our station have been compared with our previous investigations on different seismogenic topics for the same EQ, including the ULF observations at another magnetic observatory at Kakioka, belonging to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), about 50 km north of our Asahi station, subionospheric VLF/LF propagation data (Japanese and Russian data), AGW (Atmospheric gravity wave) activity in the stratosphere, and satellite observation of particle precipitations. We have found that seismogenic anomalies of different parameters tend to happen just around the EQ day, but mainly before the EQ, and have found the chain-like tendency of the effects of the lithosphere, which seem to propagate upwards the lower ionosphere. Finally, we will try to gain a better understanding of the physical phenomena or mechanisms of the lithosphere–atmosphere–ionosphere coupling (LAIC) process during the EQ preparation phase. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Electromagnetic Observations and Their Applications in Earthquake Research)

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