Carl Tape, Adam Ringler, Don Hampton
Seismological Research Letters, 2020
Across Alaska there are six all-sky cameras, 13 magnetometers, and >200 seismometers. The all-sky images and magnetometers have the same objective, which is to monitor space weather and improve our understanding of auroral activity, including the influence on magnetic fields in the ground. These variations in the magnetic field are also visible on seismometers, to the extent that during an auroral event, the long-period (40–800 s) waves recorded by a seismometer are magnetic field variations, not true ground motion. Although this is a problem—one that can be rectified with magnetic shielding at each seismometer site—it is also an opportunity because the present seismic array in Alaska is much broader than the coverage by magnetometers and all-sky cameras. Here we focus on three aurora events and document a direct link between aurora images in the night sky and seismometer recordings on ground. We also dive into the history of scientific discoveries in this realm, starting in 1716.
For a public talk on some of these results, please check out our 2021 Science For Alaska talk.
