Ionospheric F2-layer Perturbations Observed After the M8.8 Chile Earthquake on February 27, 2010, at Long Distance from the Epicenter

Abstract

The F2-layer critical frequency (foF2) data from several ionosondes are employed to study the long-distance effect of the M8.8 Chile Earthquake of February 27, 2010, on the F2 layer. Significant perturbations of the peak F2-layer electron density have been observed following the earthquake at two South African stations, Hermanus and Madimbo, which are located at great circle distances of ~8,000 and ~10,000 km from the earthquake epicenter, respectively. Simplified estimates demonstrate that the observed ionospheric perturbations can be caused by a long-period acoustic gravity wave produced in the F-region by the earthquake.

Keywords

• seismo-ionospheric coupling
• ionospheric F2 layer
• acoustic gravity wave
• ionospheric perturbation