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Abstract

Novel Research in Sciences

Statistical Significance of Pre-Seismic Anomalies in Total Electron Content in Napa Valley, California

  • Open or ClosePierre-Richard J Cornely1* and Caleb Vatral2

    1College of Science and Mathematics and Professor of Engineering, Valdosta State University, USA

    2Computer Science at the Institute for Software Integrated Systems, Vanderbilt University, USA

    *Corresponding author: Pierre- Richard J Cornely, College of Science and Mathematics and Professor of Engineering, Valdosta State University, USA

Submission: October 11, 2022;Published: October 21,2022

Abstract

Earthquakes are natural phenomena that shake the Earth, often causing significant damage and loss of human life. One method proposed in previous studies for the prediction of the time of arrival of large (>4.5 Mw) seismic activity is monitoring atmospheric Total Electron Content (TEC). In this study, we examine TEC data from 2014 during certain days near and on the date of the 6.0Mw Napa Valley earthquake in California, USA. Adaptively truncated Hotelling’s T2 test shows that TEC in the Napa region for a known non-seismic baseline is statistically different from the TEC during several weeks surrounding the earthquake. This statistical feature of the TEC suggests a potential correlation between atmospheric TEC and significant seismic activity. This research aims to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the potential correlation between a class of earthquake precursor signals and the arrival of significant earthquakes. It may be possible to use such correlations to predict the location and time of large-scale earthquakes before they occur.

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