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IUGG XXIV General Assembly July 2-13, 2007 Perugia, Italy<br />

(S) - <strong>IASPEI</strong> - International Association of Seismology and Physics of the Earth's<br />

Interior<br />

JSS008 Oral Presentation 1979<br />

Re-examining the reported magnetic precursor to the 1989 Loma Prieta<br />

earthquake using magnetic field data collected in the US and Japan during<br />

September and October 1989<br />

Dr. Jeremy Thomas<br />

National Geomagnetism Program USGS Denver, CO IAGA<br />

Jeffrey J. Love, Malcolm J. S. Johnston<br />

One of the most well-known and perhaps the most compelling reports of an electromagnetic precursor<br />

is the ultra low frequency (ULF, 0.01-10 Hz) magnetic variations measured prior to the Ms 7.1 Loma<br />

Prieta earthquake of October 17, 1989 in Northern California by Fraser-Smith et al., 1990, GRL, 17,<br />

1465-1468 (referenced as FS90). According to FS90, an ULF search coil magnetic field sensor (magnetic<br />

latitude of 42.70), located 7 km from the epicenter, measured unusual activity for more than a month<br />

prior to the earthquake. A later study by Campbell, 2005, Eos Trans. AGU, 86(18), Abstract GP23A-01,<br />

using USGS magnetic observatory data, reported that the claimed precursory activity was probably not<br />

related to the earthquake, but was, instead, driven by solar-terrestrial phenomena. In this paper, we<br />

present geomagnetic-field data measured by the Kakioka Magnetic Observatory in Japan and by the<br />

USGS in Fresno and Tucson prior to, and during, the Loma Prieta earthquake. The 1-second magnetic<br />

field data from Kakioka (magnetic latitude of 28.90 and 8,284 km from the epicenter) are filtered into<br />

several frequency band-pass channels for direct comparison with the precursory activity reported by<br />

FS90. The 1-minute magnetic field data from Fresno and Tucson (magnetic latitudes of 43.2 and 39.90<br />

and distances of 201 and 1,162 km from the epicenter, respectively) are filtered just below the<br />

frequencies reported by FS90, since the data rate at these observatories was too slow for a direct<br />

comparison. We investigate these data and explore whether the claimed precursor was a local, regional,<br />

or global phenomenon. We briefly present more recent measurements of ULF magnetic fields at similar<br />

band-passes to FS90 to quantify the typical noise background at these frequencies. Based on our<br />

analyses, we discuss the likelihood of possible sources for the claimed magnetic precursor, such as<br />

magnetospheric activity, man-made noise, and processes related to the earthquake.<br />

Keywords: geomagnetism, earthquakes

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