Conjugate ionospheric signatures of tsunami-generated gravity waves

Abstract:

Over the past decade, it has been shown that gravity waves generated by earthquakes and tsunamis can reach the upper atmosphere, where they can have a measureable effect on the ionosphere. Observations made with networks of Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers as well as airglow imaging systems have been used to study the properties of these waves through the signatures they leave in the electron density and airglow layers, respectively. Using the Naval Research Laboratory first-principles model, SAMI3, coupled to a model of the tsunami-generated gravity waves, it has been suggested that in addition to generating perturbations in the ionospheric electron density, the neutral winds associated with the gravity waves should produce perturbations in the electric field. These electric field perturbations would map along the Earth’s magnetic field where they would drive disturbances in the ionosphere, generating a signature in the conjugate hemisphere. We present GPS-derived total electron content data from several tsunami events demonstrating that this effect is, indeed, measurable. Being able to observe the effects of tsunami-generated gravity waves in the conjugate hemisphere increases the number of observations that can be used to study this ion-neutral coupling phenomenon.