Spatial Distribution of Seismicity: Relationships with Geomagnetic Z-Component in Geocentric Solar Magnetospheric Coordinate System

Galina  Khachikyan; Alexander  Inchin; Atatoly  Lozbin

doi:10.4236/ijg.2012.35109

Galina Khachikyan^*, Alexander Inchin, Atatoly Lozbin

Abstract: For 173477 epicenters of earthquakes with М ≥ 4.5, which occurred at the globe in 1973-2010, the geomagnetic Z-component in Geocentric Solar Magnetospheric (GSM) coordinate system were evaluated for the moment of earthquake occurrence on the base of the International Geomagnetic Reference Field model (IGRF-10). It is found that in the regions, where the ZGSM reaches large positive value (low and middle latitudes), earthquake occurrence is higher than in the regions where ZGSM is mainly negative (high latitudes). In the area of strongest seismicity at the globe, which is located in the longitudinal ranges of about 1200E - 1700W, the values of ZGSM are the most high at the globe. It is found that statistically significant dependence, with correlation coefficient R = 0.91, exists between the maximal possible magnitude of earthquake (Mmax) and the logarithm of absolute value of ZGSM . We suggest that earthquake occurrence is triggered by the perturbations, which in first occur at the magnetopause due to reconnection of the magnetic field of the solar wind with the Earth’s magnetic field, and then propagate into the solid earth via the GEC, which is considered at present as a main applicant for a physical mechanism of solar-terrestrial relationships. It is clear that much work remains to further verify this speculative assertion and to find the physical processes linking seismicity with the main geomagnetic field structure.

Keywords: Earthquake Occurrence; Earthquake Magnitude; Main Geomagnetic Field; Geocentric Solar Magnetospheric Coordinate System

Cite this paper: G. Khachikyan, A. Inchin and A. Lozbin, "Spatial Distribution of Seismicity: Relationships with Geomagnetic Z-Component in Geocentric Solar Magnetospheric Coordinate System," International Journal of Geosciences, Vol. 3 No. 5, 2012, pp. 1084-1088. doi: 10.4236/ijg.2012.35109.

References

[1] S. A. Pulinets and K. A. Boyarchuk, “Ionospheric Precursors of Earthquakes,” Springer, Berlin & New York, 2004.

[2] S. A. Pulinets, “Physical Mechanism of the Vertical Electric Field Generation over Active Tectonic Faults,” Advances in Space Research, Vol. 44, No. 6, 2009, pp. 767773. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2009.04.038

[3] C. T. R.Wilson, “Investigations on Lightning Discharges and on the Electric Field of Thunderstorms,” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, Vol. 221, No. 582-593, 1920, pp. 73-115. doi:10.1098/rsta.1921.0003

[4] M. J. Rycroft, S. Israelsson and C. Price, “The Global Atmospheric Electric Circuit, Solar Activity and Climate Change,” Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Vol. 62, No. 17, 2000, pp. 1563-1576. doi:10.1016/S1364-6826(00)00112-7

[5] R. G. Harrison, K. Aplin and M. Rycroft, “Atmospheric Electricity Coupling between Earthquake Regions and the Ionosphere,” Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Vol. 72, No. 5-6, 2010, pp. 376-381.

[6] R. G. Harrison, “The Global Atmospheric Electrical Circuit and Climate,” Survey in Geophysics, Vol. 25, No. 5-6, 2004, pp. 441-484. doi:10.1007/s10712-004-5439-8

[7] E. A. Bering, A. A. Few and J. R. Benbrook, “The Global Electric Circuit,” Physics Today, Vol. 51, No. 10, 1998, pp. 24-30. doi:10.1063/1.882422

[8] L. N. Makarova and A. V. Shirochkov, “A New Approach to the Global Electric Circuit Conception,” 1998. http://www.sgo.fi/SPECIAL/Contributions/Makarova.pdf

[9] С. T. Russell, “Reconnection in Planetary Magnetospheres,” Advances in Space Research, Vol. 29, No. 7, 2002, pp. 1045-1052.

[10] C. T. Russell, “Geophysical Coordinate Transformations,” Cosmic Electrodynamics, Vol. 2, 1971, pp. 184196

[11] Global NEIC catalogue, 1973-2010. http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/epic/epic_global.html

[12] N. A. Tsyganenko, “Geopack: A Set of Fortran Subroutines for Computations of the Geomagnetic Field in the Earth’s Magnetosphere,” 2008. http://geo.phys.spbu.ru/~tsyganenko/Geopack-2008.html

[13] The International Geomagnetic Reference Field model. http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/IAGA/ vmod/igrf.html