American Continent Lithospheric Earthquakes after Nuclear Tests of France in November 1990
Abstract
The correlation between lithospheric earthquakes on the American continent and tropical cyclones that arose after the French nuclear tests is considered. The transfer of the local impact of TC on the lithospheric plates of the other hemisphere is proposed to be assessed by the effect of "Fantom" TC symmetric with respect to the center of the Earth. It is shown that the localization of earthquakes shifts in accordance with the movement of the "Fantom" TC and its intensity. This indicates that TCs are a trigger for earthquakes in the most intense seismic areas.
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Introduction
Earlier it was shown that in separate seismically active areas earthquakes correlate with the energy of TCs and their localization [1-6]. Moreover, the energy of lithospheric earthquakes released at all major faults during the day has maxima at the phases of a sharp increase and decrease in TC intensity, which was shown for the strongest typhoon Gay-92 in 35 years [4].
Several mechanisms have been proposed for the TC effect on earthquakes:
1. The first one is associated with oscillations of long waves excited by TC in the coastal zone. This mechanism has been studied using special seismic sensors at ~ 2800 US stations for more than 10 years [1].
2. The second one is associated with the lithospheric mechanism of the transfer of the moment of forces from the rarefaction area under the TC when it is located near the edge of the large lithospheric plate adjacent to the small one. This mechanism was considered in the analysis of small lithospheric plate earthquakes with magnitude M> 4.5 without foreshocks of [2-3].
3. The third one is that vertical displacements of the Earth's surface in the zones of action of a cyclone and anticyclone can cause a stress release in seismically active regions, as shown by the example of Kamchatka in [5]. 4. Fourthly, it is shown that the impact of the Harry-89 TC during the passage of the New Caledonia Island can be considered as a lever that “lifted” the northeastern edge of the Australian plate, which caused a series of earthquakes [6]. By the example of the Vanuatu fault closest to the Harry TC, the change in the depth of earthquakes from deep focus h ~ 100 km to the upper boundary of the lithosphere h ~ 30 km is explained.
Conclusion
1. The TC impact on lithospheric plates is one of the triggers for the release of seismic stresses.
2. Lithospheric earthquakes occur at the phases of a sharp increase and decrease in the TC intensity.
3. Critical moments in areas diametrically distant from the TC can be determined by the peculiarities of the movement of the “Fantom” TC relative to seismic faults.