Earth Sciences

| Peer-Reviewed |

Long-Range Anomalous Electromagnetic Effect Related to M9 Great Tohoku Earthquake

Received: 07 January 2015    Accepted: 14 January 2015    Published: 26 January 2015
Views:       Downloads:

Share This Article

Abstract

It is supposed that prior to a large earthquake its focus may send through the Earth lithosphere a long-range effect of strain-related to transient electric signals, which in turn give rise to geomagnetic variations propagated over a wide range of frequencies. Consequently, to confirm long-range electromagnetic anomalous effect related to the M9 Great Tohoku earthquake occurred on 11 March 2011, we retrospectively analyzed the geomagnetic data collected at three observatories placed in Japan (Memambetsu, Kakioka) and Romania (Provita de Sus). The daily mean distributions of the normalized function Bzn and its standard deviation (STDEV) for all the three observatories are performed in the ultra-low frequency range (0.001-0.016Hz) by using the FFT band-pass filter analysis. Additionally, a comparative statistical analysis, based on a standardized random variable equation, was applied to the Bzn time series to emphasize a possible pre-seismic anomalous interval and, consequently, a peak greater than 2.5∙STDEV, related to the M9 Tohoku earthquake, was identified on 5-6 February 2011. The lead time was 32 days before the earthquake occurrence. The final conclusion is that the detection area of the pre-seismic electromagnetic effect could be extended to the considerable distances from the epicenter of a giant earthquake.

DOI 10.11648/j.earth.20150401.13
Published in Earth Sciences (Volume 4, Issue 1, February 2015)
Page(s) 31-38
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Pre-Seismic Anomalous Bzn, Crustal Electrical Conductivity Changes, M9 Tohoku Earthquake

References
[1] Bahr, K. Interpretation of the magnetotelluric impedance tensor: regional induction and local telluric distortion, J. Geophys., 62, 1988, pp. 119-127.
[2] Biagi, P.F.; Maggipinto, T.; Righetti, F.; Loiacono, D.; Schiavulli, L.; Ligonzo, T.; Ermini, A.; Moldovan, I.A.; Moldovan. A.S.; Buyuksarac, A.; Silva, H.G.; Bezzeghoud, M.; Contadakis, M.E. The European VLF/LF radio network to search for earthquake precursors: setting up and natural/man-made disturbances. Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 11, 2011, pp. 333-34.
[3] Brasse, H.; Kaoinos, G.; Li, Y.; Mutschard, L.; Soyer, W.; Eydam, D. Structural electrical anisotropy in the crust at the South-Central Chilean continental margin as inferred from geomagnetic transfer functions. Phys. Earth. Planet. Inter., 173, doi: 10.1016/j.pepi. 2008.10.017, 2009, pp.7-16.
[4] Dahlgren, R.P.; Johnston, M.J.S.; Vanderbilt, V.C.; Nakaba, R. N. Stress-stimulated current in dry and fluid saturated gabbro, EMSEV 2014 Workshop, Warsaw, September 2014, Book of Abstracts, pp. 146-147.
[5] Dunson, J.C.; Bleier, T.E.; Roth, S.; Heraud, J.; Alvarez, C.H.; Lira, A. The pulse azimuth effect as seen in induction coil magnetometers located in California and Peru 2007–2010, and its possible association with earthquakes. Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 11. doi: 10.5194/nhess- 11-2085, 2011, pp. 2085-2105.
[6] Fenoglio, M.A.; Johnston M.J.S.; Bierlee, J.D. Magnetic and electric fields associated with changes in high pore pressure in fault zones: application to the Loma Prieta ULF emissions. J. Geophys. Res. 100, 1995, pp. 12951-12958.
[7] Freund, F.T. Charge generation and propagation in rocks. J. Geodyn. 33(4-5), 2002, pp.545-572.
[8] Johnston, M.J.S. Review of electric and magnetic fields accompanying seismic and volcanic activity. Surv. Geophys., 18, 1997, pp. 441-475.
[9] Kopytenko, Y.A.; Matiashvili, T.G.; Voronov, P.M.; Kopytenko, E.A. Observation of electromagnetic ultra-low-frequency lithospheric emission in the Caucasian seismically active zone and their connection with earthquakes, In: Electromagnetic Phenomena related to Earthquake Prediction, Hayakawa and Fujinawa, Terra Scientific Pub. Comp. Tokyo, 1994, pp. 175-180.
[10] Hattori, K.; Serita, A.; Yoshino, C.; Hayakawa, M.; Isezaki, N. Singular spectral analysis and principal component analysis for signal discrimination of ULF geomagnetic data associated with 2000 Izu Island earthquake swarm. Phys. Chem. Earth, 31, 2006, pp. 281-291.
[11] Hayakawa, M. and Molchanov, O.A. Seismo- Electromagnetics: Lithosphere-Atmosphere-Ionosphere Coupling, Terra Scientific Pub. Comp., Tokyo, 2002.
[12] Hayakawa, M.; Hobara, Y.; Yasuda, Y.;Yamaguchi, H.; Ohta, K.; Izutsu, J.; Nakamura, T. Possible precursor to the March 11, 2011, Japan earthquake: ionospheric perturbations as seen by subionospheric very low frequency/low frequency propagation. Annals of Geophysics 55, 1, doi: 10.4401/ag- 5357, 2012, pp. 95-99.
[13] Hirano, T. and Hattori, K. ULF geomagnetic changes possibly associated with the 2008 Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku earthquake, Elsevier, Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 41 (2011), 2011, pp. 442–449.
[14] Mogi, K. Earthquake prediction, Academic Press, Tokio, 1985.
[15] Morgunov, V.A. and Malzev, S.A. A multiple fracture model of pre-seismic electromagnetic phenomena, Tectonophysics 431, 2007, pp. 61-72.
[16] Ouzounov, D.; Bryant, N.; Logan, T.; Pulinets, S.; Taylor, P. Satellite thermal IR phenomena associated with some of the major earthquakes in 1999-2003, Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, 31, 2006, pp. 154-163.
[17] Ouzounov, O.; Pulinets, S.; Romanov, A.; Tsybulya, K.; Davidenko, D.; Kafatos, M.; Taylor, P. Atmosphere-ionosphere response to the M9 Tohoku earthquake revealed by multi-instrument space-borne and ground observations: Preliminary results. Earthq. Sci. 24, doi: 10.1007/s 11589-011-0817-z, 2011, pp. 557–564.
[18] Park, S.K.; Johnston, M.J.S.; Madden, T.R.; Morgan, F.D.; Morrison, H.F. Electromagnetic precursors to earthquakes in the ULF band - review of observations and mechanisms, Rev. Geophys., 31, 1993, pp. 117-132.
[19] Simpson, F. and Bahr, K. Practical magnetotellurics, Cambridge University Press, 2005.
[20] Stanica, M.; Stanica, D.; Marin-Furnica, C. The placement of the Trans-European Suture Zone on the Romanian territory by electromagnetic arguments, Earth Planets Space, 51, 1999, pp. 1073-1078.
[21] Stanica, D. and Stanica, D.A. Constraints оn Соrrеlаtiоn Between the Anomalous Behaviour of Electromagnetic Normalized Functions (ENF) and the Intermediate Depth Seismic Events Оссurred in Vrancea Zone (Romania), Terr. Atmos. Ocean. Sci., 21, doi:10.3319/TAO.2009. 09.09.01(T), 2010, pp. 675-683.
[22] Stanica, D. and Stanica, D. A. Anomalous pre-seismic behaviour of the electromagnetic normalized functions related to the intermediate depth earthquakes occurred in Vrancea zone, Romania, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 11, doi: 10.5194/nhess-11-3151, 2011, pp. 3151-3156.
[23] Tong, P., Zhao, D. and Yang, D. Tomography of the 2011 Iwaki earthquake (M7.0) and Fukushima nuclear power plant area. Solid Earth, 3, doi: 10.5194/se-3-43-2012, pp. 43–51.
[24] Varotsos, P. The Physics of Seismic Electric Signals, TERRAPUB, Tokyo, 2005.
[25] Zhao, D.; Huang, Z.; Umino, N.; Hasegawa, A; Kanamori, H. Structural heterogeneity in the mega-thrust zone and mechanism of the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake (Mw 9.0). Geophys. Res. Lett., 38, L17308, doi: 10.1029/2011GL 048408, 2011, 5pp.
Author Information
  • Department of Electromagnetism and Lithosphere Dynamics, Institute of Geodynamics of the Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania

  • Department of Electromagnetism and Lithosphere Dynamics, Institute of Geodynamics of the Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania

  • Department of Electromagnetism and Lithosphere Dynamics, Institute of Geodynamics of the Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania

Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Dragos Armand Stanica, Dumitru Stanica, Nicoleta Vladimirescu. (2015). Long-Range Anomalous Electromagnetic Effect Related to M9 Great Tohoku Earthquake. Earth Sciences, 4(1), 31-38. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20150401.13

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Dragos Armand Stanica; Dumitru Stanica; Nicoleta Vladimirescu. Long-Range Anomalous Electromagnetic Effect Related to M9 Great Tohoku Earthquake. Earth Sci. 2015, 4(1), 31-38. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20150401.13

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Dragos Armand Stanica, Dumitru Stanica, Nicoleta Vladimirescu. Long-Range Anomalous Electromagnetic Effect Related to M9 Great Tohoku Earthquake. Earth Sci. 2015;4(1):31-38. doi: 10.11648/j.earth.20150401.13

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.earth.20150401.13,
      author = {Dragos Armand Stanica and Dumitru Stanica and Nicoleta Vladimirescu},
      title = {Long-Range Anomalous Electromagnetic Effect Related to M9 Great Tohoku Earthquake},
      journal = {Earth Sciences},
      volume = {4},
      number = {1},
      pages = {31-38},
      doi = {10.11648/j.earth.20150401.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20150401.13},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.earth.20150401.13},
      abstract = {It is supposed that prior to a large earthquake its focus may send through the Earth lithosphere a long-range effect of strain-related to transient electric signals, which in turn give rise to geomagnetic variations propagated over a wide range of frequencies. Consequently, to confirm long-range electromagnetic anomalous effect related to the M9 Great Tohoku earthquake occurred on 11 March 2011, we retrospectively analyzed the geomagnetic data collected at three observatories placed in Japan (Memambetsu, Kakioka) and Romania (Provita de Sus). The daily mean distributions of the normalized function Bzn and its standard deviation (STDEV) for all the three observatories are performed in the ultra-low frequency range (0.001-0.016Hz) by using the FFT band-pass filter analysis. Additionally, a comparative statistical analysis, based on a standardized random variable equation, was applied to the Bzn time series to emphasize a possible pre-seismic anomalous interval and, consequently, a peak greater than 2.5∙STDEV, related to the M9 Tohoku earthquake, was identified on 5-6 February 2011. The lead time was 32 days before the earthquake occurrence. The final conclusion is that the detection area of the pre-seismic electromagnetic effect could be extended to the considerable distances from the epicenter of a giant earthquake.},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Long-Range Anomalous Electromagnetic Effect Related to M9 Great Tohoku Earthquake
    AU  - Dragos Armand Stanica
    AU  - Dumitru Stanica
    AU  - Nicoleta Vladimirescu
    Y1  - 2015/01/26
    PY  - 2015
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20150401.13
    DO  - 10.11648/j.earth.20150401.13
    T2  - Earth Sciences
    JF  - Earth Sciences
    JO  - Earth Sciences
    SP  - 31
    EP  - 38
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5982
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.earth.20150401.13
    AB  - It is supposed that prior to a large earthquake its focus may send through the Earth lithosphere a long-range effect of strain-related to transient electric signals, which in turn give rise to geomagnetic variations propagated over a wide range of frequencies. Consequently, to confirm long-range electromagnetic anomalous effect related to the M9 Great Tohoku earthquake occurred on 11 March 2011, we retrospectively analyzed the geomagnetic data collected at three observatories placed in Japan (Memambetsu, Kakioka) and Romania (Provita de Sus). The daily mean distributions of the normalized function Bzn and its standard deviation (STDEV) for all the three observatories are performed in the ultra-low frequency range (0.001-0.016Hz) by using the FFT band-pass filter analysis. Additionally, a comparative statistical analysis, based on a standardized random variable equation, was applied to the Bzn time series to emphasize a possible pre-seismic anomalous interval and, consequently, a peak greater than 2.5∙STDEV, related to the M9 Tohoku earthquake, was identified on 5-6 February 2011. The lead time was 32 days before the earthquake occurrence. The final conclusion is that the detection area of the pre-seismic electromagnetic effect could be extended to the considerable distances from the epicenter of a giant earthquake.
    VL  - 4
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

  • Sections