Ionospheric F2 region perturbed by the 25 April 2015 Nepal earthquake

Seismic waves can be detected in the Earth's atmosphere and ionosphere; however, their impacts on ionospheric electron density (Ne) structures near the altitude of peak Ne (hmF2) have not yet been fully determined due to the lack of sufficient observations sampled in the vertical direction. Her...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of geophysical research. Space physics 2016-06, Vol.121 (6), p.5778-5784
Main Authors: Sun, Yang‐Yi, Liu, Jann‐Yenq, Lin, Chi‐Yen, Tsai, Ho‐Fang, Chang, Loren C., Chen, Chao‐Yen, Chen, Chia‐Hung
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Earth atmosphere
Earthquakes
Electron density
F 2 region
FORMOSAT‐3/COSMIC
Global positioning systems
GPS
Ground motion
Ionosphere
Ionospheric electron density
Ionospheric electrons
near‐supersonic uplifting of hmF2
Nepal earthquake
Satellite navigation systems
Seismic activity
Seismic waves
Vertical forces
vertical seismic ionospheric disturbance
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Summary:Seismic waves can be detected in the Earth's atmosphere and ionosphere; however, their impacts on ionospheric electron density (Ne) structures near the altitude of peak Ne (hmF2) have not yet been fully determined due to the lack of sufficient observations sampled in the vertical direction. Here we apply a ground‐based Global Positioning System (GPS) receiving network in Asia as well as the space‐based GPS occultation experiment on board the FORMOSAT‐3/COSMIC (F3/C) satellite to vertically scan the ionospheric Ne structures, which were perturbed by the magnitude Mw7.8 Nepal earthquake that occurred on 25 April 2015. The F3/C altitudinal Ne profiles show that the Nepal earthquake‐induced air perturbations penetrate into the ionosphere at supersonic speeds of approximately 800 m/s and change the Ne structure by 10% near hmF2. The vertical scale of the Ne perturbation is 150 km, while the hmF2 is uplifted by more than 30 km within 1 min. Those results reveal that the earthquake‐induced ground displacement should be considered as a significant force that perturbs the vertical Ne structure of the ionosphere. Key Points Coseismic ionospheric disturbance observed by FORMOSAT‐3/COSMIC Near‐supersonic uplifting of the ionospheric F2 peak caused by the Nepal earthquake Vertical scale of the coseismic disturbance is near 150 km in the F2 region
ISSN:2169-9380
2169-9402
DOI:10.1002/2015JA022280