Evidence of Correlation between High Frequency Geomagnetic Variations and Seismicity in the Caribbean

Abstract

An analysis between the hourly distribution of earthquakes in three areas of the Caribbean and the high-frequency variations of the geomagnetic field is presented. The number of earthquakes selected for each zone is between 10,000 and 43,000, which guarantees a statistically significant distribution. The hourly distributions of seismicity in all areas show a bay-shape distribution with a significant increase in the number of earthquakes at night, from 11 PM to 5 AM. For example, in eastern Cuba 36.7% of earthquakes occur at that time, representing 11.7% over 25% in the absence of any time preference. Geomagnetic disturbances were compiled from several years to be able to make a statistically significant hourly distribution of their occurrence, being determined by sudden changes in the magnetic field at a short period of 1 minute. In this sense, geomagnetic data were processed between the years 2011-2016, recorded by the geostationary satellite GOES13 and the magnetic ground station SJG in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The result shows a significant correlation between hourly earthquakes distribution and high-frequency geomagnetic variations. The time-varying conductivity response of Earth's interior also correlates with seismicity. The theory behind this correlation could be related to the piezoelectric phenomena and the electromagnetic force induced when the magnetic field is disturbed.

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“…It clearly demonstrates the effect of the Sun on the earthquake activity: solar activity stimulates seismic activity triggering earthquake focuses. Open Journal of Earthquake Research The hourly distribution of earthquakes in the Caribbean area was revealed to exhibit significant correlation with the distribution of high-frequency geomagnetic variations; the latter were recorded by the GOES13 satellite and by SJG ground magnetic station [40]. The hourly distribution of seismicity has a bay-shape form with a significant increase in the number of earthquakes at night, from 11 PM to 5 AM.…”