Evaluation of Atmospheric Electric Field as Increasing Seismic Activity Indicator on the example of Caucasus Region

TL;DR

This study evaluates the potential of atmospheric electric field gradients as reliable indicators of seismic activity increases, analyzing historical data from the Caucasus region and linking electromagnetic emissions to fault formation models.

Contribution

It introduces an empirical analysis of atmospheric electric field data as a seismic indicator and supports a theoretical model explaining electromagnetic precursors to earthquakes.

Findings

Electric field gradients show correlation with seismic activity.

Spectral electromagnetic emissions precede earthquakes.

Theoretical model explains electromagnetic precursors to fault formation.

Abstract

The present paper deals with reliability of a gradient of atmospheric electric field potential as an indicator of seismic activity increase. With this in view, records of atmospheric electric field potential gradients of Caucasus region for 1953-1992 with respect to periods before average and large earthquakes, which took place in the same time interval, were considered. It is worth to pay attention to the fact that the avalanche-like unstable model of fault formation based on theoretical model of self-generated seismo-electromagnetic oscillations of LAI system explains convincingly spectral succession of electromagnetic emission frequency of the periods preceding earthquakes.