NH21C-1834
Ionospheric F2 region perturbed by the 25 April 2015 Nepal earthquake
Tuesday, 15 December 2015
Poster Hall (Moscone South)
Yang-Yi Sun1, Jann-Yenq G Liu2, Chi- Yen Lin1, Ho-Fang Tsai3, Loren C Chang1, Chao-Yen Chen1 and Chia-Hung Chen1, (1)Institute of Space Science National Central University, Jhongli, Taiwan, (2)NCU National Central University of Taiwan, Jhongli, Taiwan, (3)National Cheng Kung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
Abstract:
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 onboard 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 Ne profiles show that the Nepal earthquake-generated airwaves penetrate into the ionosphere and change the Ne structure by 10% near hmF2; the vertical scale of the Ne perturbation is about 150 km; the peak Ne layer is uplifted by more than 30 km within one minute. Those results reveal that the earthquake-generated ground displacement should be considered as a significant force that perturbs the vertical Ne structure of the ionosphere.
