Sea temperature variation associated with the 2021 Haiti Mw 7.2 earthquake and possible mechanism

Abstract

A catastrophic earthquake (magnitude Mw 7.2) occurred on 14 August 2021 in Haiti. Sea surface temperature (SST) and sea potential temperature (SPT) observed from satellites show pronounced changes prior to the main earthquake event. The changes are observed near the epicenter and the boundary of the Caribbean Plate. Here we have carried out a detailed analysis of ocean, atmosphere and land surface parameters (sea water salinity, chlorophyll-a, latent energy flux, sensible heat flux, specific humidity, air temperature, methane and land surface temperature) using multiple satellite data to understand the possible mechanism of sea temperature changes. The strong coupling among these geophysical and geochemical parameters has been found within 2-week prior to the 2021 Haiti Mw 7.2 earthquake due to the interaction between ocean/land and atmosphere during the last phase of earthquake preparation period caused by the tectonic movement. The spatiotemporal distribution pattern of anomalies is discussed in view of the focal mechanism of the earthquake event.

Keywords

• Haiti earthquake
• remote sensing
• sea surface temperature
• ocean/land-atmosphere interaction
• Caribbean plate