TITLE:
Modification in Atmospheric Refractivity and GPS Based TEC as Earthquake Precursors
AUTHORS:
Sheetal P. Karia, Kamlesh N. Pathak, Kunvar S. Yadav, Nikita P. Chaudhary, Nilesh C. Patel. Ranjan Jana
KEYWORDS:
Total Electron Content, Refractivity, Earthquake
JOURNAL NAME:
Positioning,
Vol.5 No.2,
May
22,
2014
ABSTRACT: The present paper reports the modification in GPS TEC (total electron
content) and atmospheric refractivity prior to the Iran earthquake that had occurred
on 16 April 2013 in Iran (28.10°N, 62.05°E). The analysis of GPS-based TEC from
two GPS receivers, Surat (21.16°N, 72.78°E) and Lucknow (26.91°N, 80.95°E ) and
results of atmospheric refractivity profile for radiosonde observation stations
(Shiraz, Iran and Delhi, India) around the fault line are presented in this paper.
It is seen that atmospheric refractivity gets modified from 8 to 6 days prior to
the earthquake at Shiraz, Iran and Delhi, India. The GPS TEC showed variations a
few days prior to the earthquake. We conclude that in search of precursory signatures
for an earthquake, both GPS TEC and refractivity are important parameters.