Ionospheric anomalies associated with the Haiti earthquake of 12 January 2010 observed by DEMETER satellite

Abstract. This paper examines the ionospheric anomalies around the time of a strong earthquake (M = 7.0) which occurred in Haiti region (18.457° N, 72.533° W) on 12 January 2010. DEMETER satellite data have been used to study the plasma parameters variation during the Haiti earthquake. One day (11 January 2010) before the earthquake there is a significant enhancement of electron density and electron temperature near the epicenter. Decrease of electron temperature is observed few days after the earthquake. Anomalous plasma parameter variations are detected both in day and nighttimes before the quake. Statistical processing of the DEMETER data demonstrates that satellite data can play an important role for the study of precursory phenomena associated with earthquakes.