60-12 Detection of Space Weather Across the Alaska Regional Seismic Network

Session: 2YC and 4YCU Geoscience Student Research Poster Showcase

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Abstract:

Geomagnetic storms, caused by the interactions of solar emissions with Earth’s ionosphere, are characterized by significant disturbances of the magnetic field measured on the Earth’s surface. These storms are quantitatively measured by the K p and A p indices, over 3-hour and 24-hour time scales, respectively. While magnetometers remain the principal collectors of geomagnetic data, it is known that magnetic storms also affect seismometers, due to ferromagnetic metals used in their construction. Past investigations have shown that seismometers are useful in analyzing space weather events, especially at higher latitudes, and that seismic amplitudes are linearly correlated with magnetic field power. Here, we take seismic waveform data from all stations in the Alaska Geophysical Network and use twenty high-K p events to estimate the magnetic sensitivity of the network. From the suitably highly-sensitive stations, we scale their relationships to manufacture a K seismic measurement, which are then used to quantitatively measure and sort geomagnetic storms of various sizes and timescales. We look at magnitudes of completeness and note the fraction of seismic data compromised by magnetic storms. While these stations are still reliant on nearby magnetometers to ensure that an event is not seismic, the quantification and densification of magnetic measurements in Alaska are useful for understanding limitations in geological hazards.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-7671

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