Co-seismic electromagnetic phenomena observed at Duronia geomagnetic observatory associated with the L’Aquila earthquake 2009

Abstract

Among the electromagnetic phenomena associated to the earthquakes there is the seismic dynamo effect due to the geomagnetic field lines frozen into the conductive crust of the earth crossed by seismic waves. In this paper we report some results of the detection of the magnetic oscillations accompanying the propagation of seismic waves during the earthquake (Mw = 6.3) occurred on April 6, 2009 in L’Aquila. In order to discriminate the dynamo effect from the oscillation of the magnetic sensors and from the variations of the magnetic field, simultaneous measurements of magnetic and elastic fields during the main shock was made by means of a three components seismometer, data sampled at 20 Hz, and a three components magnetometer, data sampled at 256 Hz. This work was performed in the frame of the European Project MEM (Magnetic and Electric fields Monitoring).