GPS Observations of Ionospheric TEC Variations during 2015 Mw 7.8 Nepal
Earthquake
Abstract
Ionospheric total electron content (TEC) variations prior and after to
the great Gorkha Earthquake in Nepal (Mw = 7.8) on April 25, 2015, were
analysed using measurements from widely distributed Global Positioning
System (GPS) network. This study has been performed to understand the
relationship between ionospheric TEC anomalies and earthquake
occurrences. The analysis of vertical TEC (VTEC) time series from
different GPS stations shows that the abnormal TEC variations appeared
few days up to a few hours before the events. The results indicate that
deviation in VTEC observed on the distant GPS station from the epicentre
was found less relative to that of the stations near the epicentre,
inferring that the variation in ionospheric VTEC nearly inversely relies
upon the distance of GPS stations from the epicentre. Moreover, the
pre-earthquake ionospheric anomalies were also observed in the
geomagnetically conjugated region. In view of the solar-terrestrial
environment, the pre-earthquake ionospheric anomalies could be
associated with the Nepal earthquake. The VTEC anomaly was identified
when it crosses the upper bound or lower bound. The outcomes
additionally show that TEC variation was dominant in the vicinity of the
earthquake epicentre. We also describe contrast in TEC throughout the
globe using global ionospheric maps at regular 2-hour UT intervals, the
day before, during and after the earthquake. In addition, we observed
that areas heavily influenced by TEC were found to be transposed from
eastern sectors to western sectors through the equatorial plane.