It has been known for years that solar flares, which are sudden and powerful energy discharges occurring on the Sun's surface, have certain effects on Earth. These energy waves, mostly felt in the ionosphere layer of the atmosphere, can sometimes cause disruptions in radio communication or intensify the aurora borealis. While no significant effect beyond this has been detected, some researchers now suggest that this effect might not be limited to the upper atmosphere, but could also indirectly influence fault lines in the Earth's crust.
"Electrical Interaction Between the Ionosphere and Earth's Crust May Be Triggering Earthquakes"
According to a controversial study published this month in the "International Journal of Plasma Environmental Science and Technology," electrical changes caused by solar flares in the ionosphere could trigger fragile regions in the Earth's crust, paving the way for earthquakes. Researchers propose an electrical interaction model between the ionosphere and the Earth's crust, arguing for a previously unconsidered link between space weather events like solar flares and seismic activity.
According to the scientists' seemingly controversial model, Earth is a naturally electricity-generating system. Particularly, "supercritical fluids," which are neither liquid nor gas and are found in cracks under high pressure in the Earth's crust, contain abundant charged ions. This condition makes these fault lines act like capacitors, structures capable of storing electrical charge.
In their new work, researchers treated the Earth's crust and ionosphere like the two terminals of a giant battery. The model, which assumes an electric field exists between these two layers, suggests that charged particles from a solar flare alter the electron distribution in the ionosphere. Accordingly, electrons concentrate at lower altitudes, forming a negatively charged layer. This creates an additional electrostatic force on the electrical charges within the Earth's crust. The model's claim is this: This additional electrostatic force could alter the pressure distribution on fault lines, thereby triggering the movement of a fault already close to rupture. Researchers argue that these pressure changes could be comparable in magnitude to other forces affecting fault stability, such as gravity or tidal forces.
Does the 2024 Japan Earthquake Support This Thesis?
The study cites the earthquake that occurred in Japan's Noto Peninsula in 2024 coinciding with strong solar flares as a supporting example for the model. However, it must be noted that significant objections have already been raised against this part of the research. Data shared by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) indicates no significant correlation between records of solar flares and earthquakes.
One of the biggest criticisms of the study is that the model does not adequately account for the Earth's complex geological structure. The Earth's crust consists of numerous rock layers with varying conductivity properties. The resistance of these layers to electrical current could largely attenuate the electric field originating from the ionosphere. This means that the theoretically proposed electrostatic effect might be reduced to a nearly negligible level in the real world. For this reason, some geophysicists believe that the proposed mechanism is not supported by observational data and is, in its current state, highly speculative.
Despite all these criticisms, the idea of a possible link between space weather events and plate tectonics has not been entirely dismissed. Researchers also emphasize that their work does not offer definitive proof, but merely proposes a testable mechanism. They state that this relationship needs to be confirmed or refuted through more precise measurements and extensive observations.
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