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A special issue of Remote Sensing (ISSN 2072-4292). This special issue belongs to the section "Remote Sensing in Geology, Geomorphology and Hydrology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2022) | Viewed by 12520

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Andrei Tronin

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Guest Editor

Scientific Research Centre for Ecological Safety of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 18, Korpusnaya st., 197110 St. Petersburg, Russia
Interests: remote sensing; earthquakes; ecological safety; climate change

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The first applications of satellite data in seismology were initiated in the 1970s, when active faults were mapped on satellite images. A further application of satellite data in seismology is related with geophysical methods. Electromagnetic methods have about the same long history of application for seismology. Stable statistical estimations of ionosphere-lithosphere relation were obtained based on satellite ionozonds. Satellite thermal infra-red data were applied for earthquake research in the next step. Numerous results have confirmed previous observations of thermal anomalies on the Earth's surface prior to earthquakes. A modern trend is the application of the outgoing long-wave radiation for earthquake research. In 1980s a new technology – satellite radar interferometry – opened a new page. Spectacular pictures of co-seismic deformations were presented. Current researches are moving in the direction of pre-earthquake deformation detection. GPS technology is also widely used in seismology, both for ionosphere sounding and for ground movement detection. Satellite gravimetry has demonstrated its first very impressive results on the example of the catastrophic Indonesian earthquake in 2004. Relatively new applications of remote sensing for seismology as atmospheric sounding, gas observations, and cloud analysis are considered as possible candidates for applications.

It is possible to separate the issue of remote sensing data application on a few items: tectonic analysis of seismoactive regions, earthquake prediction and modelling of lithosphere-atmosphere-ionosphere coupling in seismic process. Optimism of satellite data application in seismology 90^th and in the early 2000s alternates with pessimism. Tectonic analysis does not provide essential information about earthquake mechanisms; satellite radar interferometry is not be able to capture preseismic deformation; methods based on visible and thermal bands suffer from cloud cover.

Therefore, I would like to call for papers to find new methods for satellite data application in seismology. We also should strive to solve one of the ultimate goals of the modern science: the earthquake forecast problem. In this Special Issue, we disseminate information and share findings on current challenges. Please, pay attention to the quantization of your results and the physical base of observed phenomena.

Papers are selected by a standard peer review procedure with the aim of rapid and wide dissemination of research results, development, and application. Original research papers or reviews in the fields of remote sensing and seismology are invited in the following, and related, areas:

SAR interferometry
Thermal observations of the Earth
Atmospheric physics and chemistry, clouds
GPS methods
Electromagnetic phenomena
Optical remote sensing
Gravitation observation
Lithosphere-atmosphere-ionosphere coupling modeling
Earthquake prediction with remote sensing

Dr. Andrei Tronin
Guest Editor

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Keywords

SAR interferometry
Thermal observations of the Earth
Atmospheric physics and chemistry, clouds
GPS methods
Electromagnetic phenomena
Optical remote sensing
Gravitation observation
Lithosphere-atmosphere-ionosphere coupling modelling
Earthquake prediction with remote sensing

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 11664 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Pronounced Changes in Thermal Signals Associated with the Madoi (China) M 7.3 Earthquake from Passive Microwave and Infrared Satellite Data

by Feng Jing, Lu Zhang and Ramesh P. Singh

Remote Sens. 2022, 14(11), 2539; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs14112539 - 26 May 2022

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 1724

Abstract

Thermal variations in surface and atmosphere observed from multiple satellites prior to strong earthquakes have been widely reported ever since seismic thermal anomalies were discovered three decades ago. These thermal changes are related to stress accumulation caused by the tectonic activities in the final stage of earthquake preparation. In the present paper, we focused on the thermal changes associated with the 2021 Madoi M 7.3 earthquake in China and analyzed the temporal and spatial evolution of the Index of Microwave Radiation Anomaly (IMRA) and the Index of Longwave Radiation Anomaly (ILRA) based on 8-year microwave brightness temperature (MWBT) and 14-year outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) data collected by satellites. We also explored their responses in different tectonic units (seismogenic fault zone and active tectonic block). Our results indicated that the enhanced IMRA was distributed along the seismogenic fault since mid-February and reappeared for a longer time and with stronger intensity in March and April 2021. The pronounced enhancement in the ILRA was observed within one month over Bayan Har tectonic and adjacent blocks. The higher ILRA over the tectonic blocks in the southern Tibet Plateau at the beginning of 2021 could be associated with the regional stress accumulation, as proven by the occurrences of two moderate earthquakes during this period. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing for Seismology)

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22 pages, 6103 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Developing a Deep Learning-Based Detector of Magnetic, Ne, Te and TEC Anomalies from Swarm Satellites: The Case of Mw 7.1 2021 Japan Earthquake

by Mehdi Akhoondzadeh, Angelo De Santis, Dedalo Marchetti and Ting Wang

Remote Sens. 2022, 14(7), 1582; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs14071582 - 25 Mar 2022

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2375

Abstract

Since the appearance and evolution of earthquake ionospheric precursors are expected to show a nonlinear and complex behaviour, the use of nonlinear predictor models seems more appropriate. This paper proposes a new approach based on deep learning as a powerful tool for extracting the nonlinear patterns from a time series of ionospheric precursors. A Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network as a type of Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) was used to investigate 52 six-month time series, deduced from the three Swarm satellite (Alpha (A), Bravo (B) and Charlie (C)) measurements, including electron density (Ne), electron temperature (Te), magnetic scalar and vector (X, Y, Z) components, Slant and Vertical Total Electron Content (STEC and VTEC), for day and night periods around the time and location of a seismic event. This new approach was tested on a strong Mw = 7.1 earthquake in Japan on 13 February 2021, at 14:07:50 UTC by comparing the results with two implemented methods, i.e., Median and LSTM methods. Furthermore, clear anomalies are seen by a voting classification method 1, 6, 8, 13, 31 and 32 days before the earthquake. A comparison with atmospheric data investigation is further provided, supporting the lithosphere–atmosphere–ionosphere coupling (LAIC) mechanism as a suitable theory to explain the alteration of upper geolayers in the earthquake preparation phase. In other words, using multi-method and multi-precursor analysis applied to 52 time series and also to the orbit-by-orbit investigation, the observed anomalies on the previous day and up to 32 days before the event in normal solar and quiet geomagnetic conditions could be considered as a striking hint of the forthcoming Japan earthquake. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing for Seismology)

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30 pages, 48911 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dynamic Relationship Study between the Observed Seismicity and Spatiotemporal Pattern of Lineament Changes in Palghar, North Maharashtra (India)

by Biswajit Nath, Ramesh P. Singh, Vineet K. Gahalaut and Ajay P. Singh

Remote Sens. 2022, 14(1), 135; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs14010135 - 29 Dec 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3014

Abstract

The Palghar region (north Maharashtra, India), located in the northwestern part of the stable continental region of India, experienced a low magnitude earthquake swarm, which was initiated in September 2018 and is continuing to date (as of October 2021). From December 2018 to December 2020, ~5000 earthquakes with magnitudes from M1.2 to M3.8 occurred in a small region of 20 × 10 km². These earthquakes were probably triggered by fluid migration during seasonal rainfall. In this study, we have used multi-temporal Landsat satellite data of the year 2000, 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2020, extracted lineaments, and studied the changes in frequency and pattern of lineaments before and after the initiation of the swarm in the Palghar region. An increase in the lineament density and amount of rainfall are found to be associated with the increasing frequency of earthquakes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing for Seismology)

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18 pages, 4581 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Extraction and Discrimination of MBT Anomalies Possibly Associated with the Mw 7.3 Maduo (Qinghai, China) Earthquake on 21 May 2021

by Yuan Qi, Lixin Wu, Yifan Ding, Yingjia Liu, Shuai Chen, Xiao Wang and Wenfei Mao

Remote Sens. 2021, 13(22), 4726; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs13224726 - 22 Nov 2021

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2085

Abstract

Earthquakes are one of the most threatening natural disasters to human beings, and pre- and post-earthquake microwave brightness temperature (MBT) anomalies have attracted increasing attention from geosciences as well as remote sensing communities. However, there is still a lack of systematic description about how to extract and then discriminate the authenticity of seismic MBT anomalies. In this research, the first strong earthquake occurring near the northern edge of eastern Bayan Har block in nearly 20 years, the recent Mw 7.3 Maduo earthquake in Qinghai province, China on 21 May 2021, was selected as a case study. Based on the monthly mean background of MBT, the spatiotemporal features of MBT residuals with 10.65 GHz before and after the earthquake was firstly revealed. Referring to the spatial patterns and abnormal amplitudes of the results, four typical types of evident MBT positive residuals were obtained, and the time series of intensity features of each category was also quantitatively analyzed. Then, as the most influential factor on surface microwave radiation, air temperature, soil moisture and precipitation were analyzed to discriminate their contributions to these residuals. The fourth one, which occurred north to the epicenter after the earthquake, was finally confirmed to be caused by soil moisture reduction and thus ruled out as being related to seismicity. Therefore, the three retained typical MBT residuals with 10.65 GHz could be identified as possible anomalies associated with the Maduo earthquake, and were further analyzed collaboratively with some other reported abnormal phenomena related to the seismogenic process. Furthermore, through time series analysis, the MBT positive residuals inside the Bayan Har block were found to be more significant than that outside, and the abnormal behaviors of MBT residuals in the elevation range of 4000–5000 m reflected the shielding effect on microwave radiation from thawing permafrost on the plateau in March and April, 2021. This research provides a detailed technique to extract and discriminate the seismic MBT anomaly, and the revealed results reflect well the joint effect of seismic activity and regional coversphere environment on satellite-observed MBT. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing for Seismology)

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22 pages, 13338 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multi-Dimension and Multi-Channel Seismic-Ionospheric Coupling: Case Study of Mw 8.8 Concepcion Quake on 27 February 2010

by Kunpeng Shi, Jinyun Guo, Yongming Zhang, Wang Li, Qiaoli Kong and Teng Yu

Remote Sens. 2021, 13(14), 2724; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rs13142724 - 11 Jul 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2062

Abstract

GPS radio occultation (RO) technology can fully describe the subtle structure of the ionosphere. This paper discusses the dynamic abnormity observed by the RO data from the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology Ionosphere and Climate (FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC) before the great earthquake case in Concepcion, Chile (27 February 2010, Mw 8.8). Traditional ground-based GPS monitoring was considered as the external conditions and references to the excitation response. Using kriging interpolation, the global Nmf2 map (GNM) was first constructed to study the ionosphere deviation from the normal state. Successively, the ionosphere abnormality in the F2 region (Nmf2), vertical structure (RO profiles), and multiple heights (electron density) of traveling are unfolded. The Nmf2 disturbances in the possibility of seismic influences were excluded from non-seismic noise factors, including the external input (e.g., space weather activity, 15 February) and meteorological events (e.g., lower atmospheric forcing in quiet periods). However, the results show that there were apparent local Nmf2 perturbations for up to 5 h in the epicenter area on 21 and 25 February. The disturbances of the RO profiles and the interaction of other layers of the ionosphere implied the fluctuation signals of prominent long-wavelength fluctuations >50 km in the F layer. The ionospheric fluctuates wildly, and these wave signals considered as the trace of gravity wave propagating upward are mainly distributed at the elevation of 200–300 km. The simultaneous reaction of GNSS TEC further evidenced the potential possibility of acoustic gravity by the COSMIC RO profiles, reflecting the compounding couplings of seismo-ionosphere effects. In terms of the presentation of VLF radiation noise and the aerosol ion clusters, the electromagnetic and chemical channels have been previously completed by DEMETER and Terra/Aqua satellites. These findings implied the great potential of the FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 system (now in the testing phase), with ~5000 soundings to investigate the subtle atmospheric stratification. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Remote Sensing for Seismology)

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