The earthquake-related disturbances in ionosphere and project of the first China seismo-electromagnetic satellite

Based on the case studies and statistical analysis of earthquake-related ionospheric disturbances mainly from DEMETER satellite, ground-based GPS and ionosounding data, this paper summarizes the statisw tical characteristics of earthquake-related ionospheric disturbances, including electromagnetic emissions, plasma perturbations and variation of energetic particle flux. According to the main results done by Chinese scientists, fusing with the existed study from global researches, seismo-ionospheric disturbances usually occurred a few days or hours before earthquake occurrence. Paralleling to these case studies, lithosphere-atmosphere-ionosphere （LAI） coupling mechanisms are checked and optimized. A thermo-electric model was proposed to explain the seismo-electromagnetic effects before earthquakes. A propagation model was put forward to explain the electromagnetic waves into the ionosphere. According to the requirement of earthquake prediction research, China seismo-electromagnetic satellite, the first space-based platform of Chinese earthquake stereoscopic observation system, is proposed and planned to launch at about the end of 2014. It focuses on checking the LAI model and distinguishing earthquake-related ionospheric disturbance. The preliminary design for the satellite will adopt CAST-2000 platform with eight payloads onboard. It is believed that the satellite will work together with the ground monitoring network to improve the capability to capture seismo-electromagnetic information, which is beneficial for earthquake monitoring and prediction researches.

Analysis of ionospheric VTEC disturbances before and after the Yutian Ms7.3 earthquake in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

An earthquake with a magnitude of Ms7.3 hit Yutian in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on February 14, 2014. This research investigates the interference phenomena in solar activities and geomagnetics, and adopts the quartile method to analyze the Global Ionosphere Map （GIM） Vertical Total Electron Content （VTEC） data provided by the Center for Orbit Determination in Europe （CODE）, as well as the difference between GIM VTEC and International Reference Ionosphere （IRI） VTEC data. The ionospheric VTEC disturbances at the earthquake epicenter are examined before and after the event. At UTC 8：00 on February 2, a strong VTEC disturbance emerged in the sky near the epicenter. A strong VTEC disturbance also emerged in the sky of the southern Hemisphere area, which is symmetric with the areas north of the equator. The methods used in analysis of the difference between GIM VTEC and IRI VTEC information can effectively fill the gaps in analysis that uses only the GIM VTEC data.

Spectral investigation of traveling ionospheric disturbances:IONOLAB-FFT

Ionosphere is an important layer of atmosphere which is under constant forcing from both below due to gravitational, geomagnetic and seismic activities, and above due to solar wind and galactic radiation. Spatio-temporal variability of ionosphere is made up of two major components that can be listed as spatio-temporal trends and secondary variabilities that are due to disturbances in the geomagnetic field, gravitational waves and coupling of seismic activities into the upper atmosphere and ionosphere. Some of these second order variabilities generate wave-like oscillations in the ionosphere which propagate at a certain frequency, duration and velocity. These oscillations cause major problems for navigation and guidance systems that utilize GNSS （Global Navigation Satellite Systems）. In this study, the frequency and duration of wave-like oscillations are determined using a DFT （Discrete Fourier Transform） based algo- rithm over the STEC （slant total electron content） values estimated from single GPS （Global Positioning System） station. The performance of the developed method, namely IONOLAB-FFT, is first determined using synthetic oscillations with known frequencies and durations. Then, IONOLAB-FFr is applied to STEC data from various midlatitude GPS stations for detection of frequency and duration of both medium and large scale TIDs （traveling ionospheric disturbances）. It is observed that IONOLAB-FFr can estimate TIDs with more than 80% accuracy for the following cases： frequencies from 0.6 mHz to 2.4 mHz and durations longer than 10 min; frequencies from 0.15 mHz to 0.6 mHz and durations longer than 50 min; fre- quencies higher than 0.29 mHz and durations longer than 50 rain.

Ionospheric total electron content disturbance associated with May 12, 2008,Wenchuan earthquake

Possible ionospheric disturbances relating to the May 12, 2008, MsS.0 Wenchuan earthquake were identified by Global Positioning System （GPS）-derived total electron content （TEC）, ion- osonde observations, the global ionospheric map （GIM）, and electron density profiles detected by the Constellation Observation System for Meteorology Ionosphere and Climate （COSMIC）. We applied a statistical test to detect anomalous TEC signals and found that a unique enhancement in TEC, recorded at 16 GPS stations, appeared on May 9, 2008. The critical fre- quency at F2 peak （foF2）, observed by the Chinese ionosondes, and maximal plasma frequency, derived from COSMIC data, revealed a characteristic similar to GPS TEC variations. The GIM showed that the anomalous variations of May 9 were located southeast of the epicenter. Using GPS data from 13 stations near the epicenter, we analyzed the TEC variations of satellite orbit traces during 04：00-11：00 UT. We found that TEC decreased to the east and increased to the southeast of the epicenter during this period. Results showed that the abnormal disturbance on May 9 was probably an ionosphenc precursor of the Wenchuan earthquake of May 12, 2008.

Removing Solar Radiation Based on the Empirical Mode Decomposition Method for Seismo-Ionospheric Anomaly Before the M9.0 Tohoku Earthquake

The ionospheric effect from solar activity can be seen as the background in the process of detecting the ionospheric precursor prior to strong earthquakes.The ionospheric variation induced by the forthcoming earthquake can be covered by the strong solar background during the period of high solar activity.The issue of how to remove the ionospheric effect from solar radiation is of outstanding significance.In this paper,a method of Empirical Mode Decomposition(EMD) is used to eliminate the solar background.As a case study,the global ionospheric map TEC before the M9.0 Tohoku earthquake on 11 March 2011 is analyzed.After the effect of solar radiation is removed using the EMD method,the precursor of the imminent earthquake is more obvious.The ionospheric anomaly had a local character and only appeared close to the earthquake epicenter while the useful signals were covered by the solar radiation background with traditional method,which implies that the EMD method is effective in eliminating solar radiation background.

PMSE dependence on frequency observed simultaneously with VHF and UHF radars in the presence of precipitation

Using PMSE （polar mesosphere summer echoes） observations in combination with particle flux measurements obtained with detectors onboard the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite （GOES） a special condition is shown for the occurrence of rare observed UHF PMSE. When electron flux observed from GOES satellites show a decrease, then after being in the presence of precipitation UHF PMSE occurs. The heating effect on PMSE is small when the UHF electron density is enhanced at 90 km due to particle precipitation. We analyzed and compared the frequency dependence of PMSE under the condition of high energy particle precipitation in July of 2004 and 2007 at well separated frequencies （224 and 930 MHz） at the same site, height, and time. The frequency index varies with height and time. At different heights, the maximum as well as the minimum value of volume reflectivity at VHF is greater than that at UHF with 2 to 3 orders of magnitude. A new qualitative method for the analysis of dust distribution is used by analyzing the relationship between volume reflectivity and frequency index. In agreement with the results of the model it is shown that dust particles of smaller size generally did not occur at the edges, instead they occurred in the middle PMSE regions.

Coseismic displacements and inospheric changes of the 2013 Ms7. 0 Lushan earthquake from GPS measurements

By inverting GPS data recorded at stations of the Crustal Movement Observation Network of China （CMONOC） near the 2013 Lushan Ms7.0 earthquake, we found a horizontal displacement of 22 mm at a site about 32 kin SW of the epicenter and vertical displacements of as much as 12.4 mm at several sites. The vertical displacements were generally uplift on the west side of the nearby Longmenshan fault zone and subsidence on the east side. We also found coseismic ionospheric disturbances about 0.5 to 0.9 TECU in amplitude that lasted for about one hour.

Interaction between Equatorial Plasma Bubbles and a Medium-Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbance,observed by OI 630 nm airglow imaging at Bom Jesus de Lapa,Brazil

OI 630.0 nm airglow observations,from a new observatory at Bom Jesus de Lapa,were used to study the interaction between EPBs(Equatorial Plasma Bubbles)and the MSTID(Medium-Scale Traveling Ionospheric Disturbance)over the Northeast region in Brazil.On the night of September 16 to 17,2020,an EPB was observed propagating eastward,in an apparent fossil stage,until it interacted with a dark band electrified MSTID(e MSTID).After the interaction,four EPBs merged,followed by an abrupt southward development and bifurcations.Analysis of the data suggests that an eastward polarization electric field,induced by the dark band e MSTID,forced the EPB into an upward drift,growing latitudinally along the magnetic field lines and then bifurcating.

GPS detection of the coseismic ionospheric disturbances following the 12 May 2008 M7.9 Wenchuan earthquake in China

Here we report two cases of coseismic ionospheric disturbances observed through a GPS network in China after the great Wenchuan earthquake at 06：28 UT on 12 May, 2008. One is detected 7.9 rain after the earthquake and had an intensive ＂N＂ shape oscillated waveform with a pronounced amplitude of about 1 TECU, which propagates approximately southward to the distance about 1000 km with the horizontal phase velocity of 600±84 m/s and the period of 9.5±1.3 min. The other is detected 8.5 min after the earthquake and has an oscillated waveform more like a positive pulse with an amplitude of about 0.5 TECU, which propagates eastward to the distance about 800 km with the horizontal phase velocity of 720＋59 m/s and the period of 7.4±0.8 min. These two coseismic ionospheric disturbances are caused by the acoustic gravity waves excited by partial trans-formation of the acoustic waves originated from the energy release of the earthquake, somewhere near the epicenter. The directional preferences of these two coseismic ionospheric disturbances may be associated with the oblique geomagnetic field lines and the background winds filtering effect.

Monitoring traveling ionospheric disturbances using the GPS network around China during the geomagnetic storm on 28 May 2011

Larger-scale traveling ionospheric disturbances （LSTIDs） are studied using the total electron content （TEC） data observed from 246 GPS receivers in and around China during the medium storm on 28 May 2011. It is the first attempt to get the two-dimensional TEC perturbation maps in China. Two LSTID events are detected： one is in southwestern China before mid- night propagating from low to middle latitude to the distance of about 1200 km with the phase front extending to about 500 km, and the other is in northeastern China after midnight propagating from middle to low latitudes to the distance of about 1200 km with the phase front extending to nearly 1400 km. By using the multichannel maximum-entropy method, we get the propagation parameters of these two LSTIDs. The LSTID that occurs before midnight has a higher horizontal phase velocity and a larger damping rate corresponding to the after midnight LSTID, and this may be caused by the relatively large vertical back- ground TECo and high atmospheric temperature in the southwest of China before midnight. According to the variations of magnetic H component observed in high latitudes, the source region for the after midnight LSTID is likely to be located 1400-2600 km east of 140E and north of 42N; the before midnight LSTID is propably excited by the atmospheric gravity waves （AGWs） generated by the Joule heating of the equatorial electrojet.

Ionospheric disturbance analysis of the January 15,2022 Tonga eruption based on GPS data

Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai climactic eruption on January 15,2022,released enormous energy that affected the ionosphere over the Pacific Rim.We analyzed ionospheric disturbance following volcanic eruptions using near-field(<1000 km),regional(1000–5000 km),and far-field(5000–12000 km) global positioning system(GPS) observations.The results indicate that the near-field ionospheric perturbation that occurred 8–15 min after the cataclysmic eruption was mainly derived from the shock wave(~1000 m/s) generated by the blast,while the low-frequency branch with long-distance propagation characteristics over the regional and the far-field was mainly associated with atmospheric Lamb waves(~330 m/s).Moreover,the amplitude of disturbance and background total electron content(TEC) are related proportionally.The intensity of the volcanic eruption and the background ionospheric conditions determine the magnitude of ionospheric responses.TEC perturbations were invisible on the reference days.Furthermore,the source location and onset time were calculated using the ray tracing technique,which confirms that the Tonga event triggered the ionospheric anomaly beyond the crater.Finally,the change in the frequency of the perturbations coincided with the arrival of the initial tsunami,implying the generation of a meteotsunami.

The state-of-the-art of the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite mission

The China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite(CSES) mission was proposed in 2003 and approved in 2013 after ten years' scientific and engineering demonstrations. To meet the requirement of scientific objectives, the satellite is designed to be in a sunsynchronous orbit with an altitude of 507 km and descending node time of 14:00 LT. The CSES satellite carries 8 instruments,including search-coil magnetometer(SCM), electric field detector(EFD), high precision magnetometer(HPM), GNSS occultation receiver(GOR), plasma analyzer package(PAP), langmuir probe(LAP), high energetic particle package(HEPP) and detector(HEPD), and tri-band beacon(TBB), among which HEPD is provided by Italian Space Agency. The CSES satellite was launched successfully on February 2, 2018, and is planned to operate for 5 years. The CSES mission is the first satellite in China to measure geophysical fields, which will have a lot of application prospects in the study of seismology, geophysics, space sciences, and so on.

New understanding achieved from 2 years of Chinese ionospheric investigations

In the mainland of China, the number of ionospheric research groups is more than 10. Around 110 articles related to ionospheric physics have been published during 2014–2015. In this annual national report of the Committee on Space Research(COSPAR), we will outline some recent progresses in ionospheric studies conducted by the Chinese mainland scientists in the past 2 years. These investigations cover(1) the ionosphere responses to geomagnetic activities;(2) ionospheric climatology and structures;(3) couplings between the ionosphere, plasmasphere and lower atmosphere, and possible seismic signatures in the ionosphere;(4) ionospheric irregularities and scintillation;(5) ionospheric models, data assimilation and simulations;(6) ionospheric dynamics and electrodynamics;(7) progresses in the observation methodology and technique; and(8) planetary ionospheres. Such investigations will strengthen our ability to monitor the ionosphere,provide a better understanding of the ionospheric states and the underlying fundamental processes, and improve the ionospheric modeling, forecasting, and related applications.