A study of NOAA particle flux sensitivity to solar activity and strategies to search for correlations among satellite data and earthquake phenomena

The data provided by particle and plasma physics satellites represent a potentially important source of information for the study of seismic activity on a planetary scale. The increasing number of observations concerning meteorological and telecommunication satellites indicate that particle precipitation, infrared emission and anomalies in communication links may be associated, although not yet in a systematic manner, with earthquakes. Several studies have attempted to correlate satellite observations with seismic phenomena, however, few present statistically significant results. In this study, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) electron flux measurements are used. With respect to previous efforts, we define contiguous particle bursts (PBs) and study their autocorrelations; the latter may be used to distinguish the origin of the observed fluctuations. The goal is to combine data from satellite and Earth surface measurements to better understand the potential of remote sensing of seismic phenomena. In this context, we stress the importance of international coordination, shared databases and the harmonization of existing methodologies. © 2012 Taylor & Francis.