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Abstract
Multi-satellite sensor and ground observation data were analysed soon after the Wenchuan Earthquake of magnitude 7.9 (according to the USGS) or 8.0 (according to Xinhua, the Chinese News Agency) that occurred on 12 May 2008. This earthquake was felt by millions of people living in a number of countries; it took 65 000 lives and made millions of people homeless, damaged small and large infrastructure, and large surface manifestations were observed on the surface. Soon after the earthquake multi-satellite sensor and ground observatory data were analysed to study changes in ground, meteorological and atmospheric parameters. A detailed analysis of these data shows pronounced anomalous changes prior to the Wenchuan Earthquake event. Analysis of Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS) data at different pressure levels clearly shows characteristic behaviour of the air temperature and relative humidity compared to other days. Such changes are observed up to 500 hPa, with maximal change at the lower levels. Changes in the surface, atmosphere, meteorological and ionospheric parameters prior to the Wenchuan Earthquake are complementary to one another and show the existence of a strong coupling between land, atmosphere and ionosphere, associated with the Wenchuan Earthquake.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the NASA GIOVANNI team. RPS and JZ are grateful to the Indo–French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research (IFCPAR) for financial support in the form of a research project. Senthil Kumar J. was supported by IFCPRA. The efforts of Rachita Singh in carrying out detailed analysis of multiple parameters available through AIRS satellite, and generating numerous plots for understanding the nature of various parameters associated with the Wenchuan Earthquake are highly appreciated. RPS is grateful to Professor Arthur Cracknell for his interest and his critical reading of the manuscript which have helped the authors to improve the manuscript. Our sincere thanks to the referees for their comments/suggestions, which helped us to improve an earlier version of the paper.