© 2019

……and other Ground based Events that affect and other Ground based Events that affect

the Ionosphere!the Ionosphere!

History of HF-MonitoringPicture of the AN/FRDAN/FRD--10 10 HF Monitoring Station Galeta Island, Panama

•Country of origin: United States

•Introduced: 1961

•Type: Wullenweber antenna array

•Frequency: Low Band 2 MHz - 9 MHzHigh Band 9 MHz - 32 MHz

•Inner Array Antenna radius: 393.5 ft (119.9 m)

•Inner Array Reflector radius: 366 ft (112 m)

•Outer Array Antenna radius: 436.75 ft (133.12 m)

•Outer Array Reflector radius: 423.5 ft (129.1 m)

•Range: 3,200 nautical miles (5900 km)

•Antenna Cost (1970): $900,000 ($5.81 million today)

•Electronics Cost (1970): $20 million ($129 million today)

• By combining multiple stations, a radio signal could be traced to a 100 km2 area anywhere in the Atlantic or Pacific.

A total of 16 stations were built, 14 in the USA and US bases around the world, and 2 in Canada. The 2 located in Canada are still in operation by remote control, the rest have been demolished.

How do Earthquakes create Electromagnetic Fields?

piezoelectric effect of rocks sliding and vibrating on top piezoelectric effect of rocks sliding and vibrating on top of each otherof each othermicromicro--fractures of rocks releasing vast numbers of free fractures of rocks releasing vast numbers of free electronselectrons

Electrons move up towards the surface or seaElectrons move up towards the surface or sea--floor and floor and circulate around the quake area.circulate around the quake area.

Electromagnetic fields emerge out of EarthElectromagnetic fields emerge out of Earth’’s crust and s crust and move upward towards the ionosphere.move upward towards the ionosphere.

Since the ionosphere contains charged particles, the Since the ionosphere contains charged particles, the magnetic field interacts with the ions and creates a hole magnetic field interacts with the ions and creates a hole or a dome of charged particles, affecting radio waves or a dome of charged particles, affecting radio waves passing through.passing through.For more information see For more information see Scientific American Scientific American October, October, 2018: 2018: ““Earthquakes in the Sky.Earthquakes in the Sky.”” (See reference at the (See reference at the end).end).

A hole in the Ionosphere?The magnetic field lines reach into the ionosphere and disturb or bend the layers, breaking existing radio paths. The signals that the RF Seismograph receives drop out!

Ionosphere

(charged particles) The equivalent of a magnetic field shooting out of the surface of the sun. Because of the hot plasma, the field lines are visible. This process on the sun is much more energetic than an earthquake here on earth, but the physics are the same.

(simplified)

What is visible on the RF-SeismographDifferent Stages of a Quake as Seen by the RF-Seismograph

(case study for a M5.0 event, 256 km SW of Port Hardy - Vancouver Island, BC)

� energy buildup – noise increases on 80 m (red), 2 h before quake� disruption of 40 m, 30 m and 20 m bands – communication dropout� Quake releases.� The energy buildup and blackout continues with most quakes for

approximately the same time as the before the quake (2 h to 8 h) for at total of 4 h to 16 h.

� After the energy releases, the ionosphere starts to rebuild slowly and normal HF communication continues.

Comparison: RF-Seismograph vs. IonosondeA series of two earthquakes are released in the Pacific,

NW of Vancouver Island on April 22nd 2019.

�detects a disturbance starting at 19:00 UTC,

�measures a peak on 80 m when the first quake releases

�measures a peak on 40m before second quake

Ionosonde – Pt. Arguello

� detects a drop in the foF2 frequency at 19:00 UTC

�measures a peak during the first quake

�measures prolonged peak during second quake

Note: one measurement every 15 minutes only

Ionosonde Image credit: Edgar Kraut (W6GSE)

RF-Seismograph - Lynn Valley

Earthquakes are very distinct and the wave energy released is like a finger print.

The black graph is a full wave representation of the physical shock waves recorded by USGS.

The red graph is the recording of the event on the RF-Seismograph (RMS) on 80 m. The main shockwave energy level and timing match the recording from USGS, confirming that both are caused by the same event.

Since mantle shockwaves travel at different speed the events arrive at different times at the recording stations.

Phasing distorts the outer pattern of the signals that travel over 10000 km in different medias (crust vs. air).

Comparison: RF-Seismograph vs. Seismograph

Credit: Edgar Kraut (W6GSE )

How to store and search the data we have collected

Collecting information on propagation creates huge files. The RF-Seismograph measures 6 bands every 52 s. It creates a log file every day at midnight and has collected over 105 MB of data since it started recording.

Timestamp - f[kHz] 3576 7076 10138 14076 21076 28076

06-07-2016 23:56:12 -38.59 -49.25 -47.87 -46.16 -51.56 -55.76

06-07-2016 23:57:04 -37.61 -50.71 -48.69 -46.3 -51.47 -56.25

06-07-2016 23:57:56 -38.21 -50.9 -47.52 -47.35 -51.3 -55.92

06-07-2016 23:58:52 -39.3 -50.03 -47.52 -47.27 -50.16 -55.55

06-07-2016 23:59:40 -39.65 -50.16 -48.53 -47.19 -50.23 -55.61

06-08-2016 00:00:32 -38.82 -50.02 -48.14 -47.39 -51.23 -55.3

06-08-2016 00:01:26 -38.39 -49.86 -47.69 -47.34 -52.01 -56.36

06-08-2016 00:02:18 -39.33 -49.93 -46.64 -47.09 -50.76 -55.15

06-08-2016 00:03:10 -39.03 -50.42 -47.19 -47.95 -51.91 -55.33

06-08-2016 00:04:02 -32.57 -50.32 -46.53 -46.41 -50.42 -56.19

06-08-2016 00:04:54 -39.78 -50.41 -46.24 -46.54 -51.08 -56.07

06-08-2016 00:05:46 -39.37 -50.71 -47 -46.7 -49.57 -56.07

06-08-2016 00:06:38 -39.55 -50 -48.28 -47.08 -51.13 -56.38

06-08-2016 00:07:30 -39.12 -50.75 -47.41 -47.12 -50.92 -55.8

06-08-2016 00:08:22 -38.73 -49.19 -48.44 -47.92 -50.53 -56.02

06-08-2016 00:09:14 -38.77 -50.76 -47.78 -47.42 -51.36 -55.68

06-08-2016 00:10:06 -39.94 -50.31 -47.49 -47.21 -51.54 -55.47

06-08-2016 00:11:01 -39.96 -49.47 -46.66 -47.3 -50.48 -56.41

06-08-2016 00:11:53 -38.54 -49.9 -46.71 -47.18 -50.57 -56.19

06-08-2016 00:12:45 -38.81 -50.18 -47.28 -46.68 -51.36 -55.59

06-08-2016 00:13:37 -39.49 -50.79 -48.01 -45.99 -51.38 -55.32

06-08-2016 00:14:29 -39.72 -50.88 -46.88 -46.54 -51.01 -56.37

06-08-2016 00:15:21 -39 -50.35 -47.04 -47.81 -50.82 -56.4

Propagation RF-Seismograph

-70

-60

-50

-40

-30

-20

-10

0

10

20

1 151 301 451 601 751 901 1051 1201 1351 1501 1651

time[h]

no

ise

leve

l [d

B]

80m

40m

30m

20m

15m

10m

How sensitive is the RFHow sensitive is the RF--Seismograph!Seismograph!In the first phase of our research we were looking at small events. Preferably something artificial. North Korea came to mind, which has been conducting underground atomic tests. The bomb that exploded on 2016-09-09 at Pungge-risite was estimated to be 15 kt to 25 kt (just a bit larger than Hiroshima). If exploded on the surface it has the power to create a M6+ size earthquake!

Since the test was underground, the effect on the surface, in the iono-sphere and the EMP, were much attenuated. Nevertheless the RF-Seismograph recorded a blip, a delayed reaction and a change in propagation.

The second event was much larger and had a yield of 70 kt to 280 kt, but the time of the explosion does not match our data (listed on Wikipedia).

So the jury is still out…,but why the times are different is anyone's guess!

The long term effect of Solar FluxOn 18-08-2016 the Solar Flux was at 100. The average noise level at the MDSR Space Weather Station was -40 dB on 80 m and -58 dB on 10 m.

On 25-11-2018 the Solar Flux was at 70 (the start of the solar minimum). The average noise level of the station has actually increased!

SFi at 100 will not help to open 15 m (blue) and 10 m (salmon), so there is little activity on these bands. Unfor-tunately, the RF-Seismograph was not available during the last solar maximum.

Conclusion: High solar flux makes the ionosphere more conductive, so it radiates the local noise to other locations and hence the noise level drops.

Note: Both measurements were taken on days that were quiet with solar flares and solar wind.

The Different Types of MeasurementsThe Different Types of Measurements(Passive and Semi(Passive and Semi--passive Measurements)passive Measurements)

The RF-Seismograph performs passive and semi-passive measurements simultaneously.

• The passive measurement only records the noise level.

• The semi-passive measurement is taken mainly on the digital section of each band (such as JT65 and FT8).

• When there are no changes to the noise level, the result is a flat line.• When no signal is present, the MDSR displays a thin line which moves up and down recording the noise level.• With a signal present, the graph goes wide and moves up and down with the noise level.

The 4 Year Propagation vs. Earthquake Study

•171 total earthquakes were studied, including all M6+ events from the beginning of our recording (2016-08-01) to today. Events were provided by USGS and the quality of the data is high.

• There were 961 days of recorded data and 171 M6+ earthquakes, that amounts to one major quake every 5.6 days. Approximately 17.3 percent of background noise is affected by these strong events. Since we only looked at 6+ events, we can conclude that a lot of the background noise which we monitor is created by smaller seismic events as well (and there is a lot more of them). If one looks at smaller earthquakes (<M3.0) the earth really never stops shaking. There is a lot of energy even in small earthquakes and they are the major source of the rumble one hears when a HF rig is set to 160 m or 80 m.

• Only 15 quakes did not have RF noise associated with them.

• One day out of 961 was not recoverable due to data loss. In 26 cases the time of the disturbance did not match the time stated in the USGS report.

• In 122 Quakes (72 percent) we were able to see a noise increase of the 80 m either before, after and before, and after the quake released. The before and after is the most common case. More analysis is needed.

•Introduction and Study of Earthquakes (See references at the end.)

http://www3.telus.net/public/bc237/MDSR/IntroductionRF-SeismographandEarthqakes.pdf

• The study is still continuing and we need your help to set up more monitoring stations.

Why do we need vertical antennas to monitor Propagation and Noise?

When monitoring background noise, it is imperative to use a tall, preferably omni-directional antenna like the 18HTjr from Hy-Gain. This antenna is capable of covering all of the major HF amateur bands including 80 m. Each band that we record must have a defined resonant element on this antenna. No antenna tuner is needed with resonant antennas. Tall antennas are not only more efficient; they are also a lot less interfer-ence-prone due to local near-field changes. This means that some maintenance can be done without having to turn off the RF-Seismograph. Especially when the moni-toring is over long periods of time, maintain-ing the antenna while it is recording with a minimum of interference is a big plus.

How is “RF Seismograph” connected

to the Transceiver

The station setup for the RFThe station setup for the RF--Seismograph is exactly Seismograph is exactly

the same as for the MDSR. The 455 kHz IF is extracted the same as for the MDSR. The 455 kHz IF is extracted

from the transceiver and then fed to the LIF converter. from the transceiver and then fed to the LIF converter.

The LIF converts the IF to 12 kHz The LIF converts the IF to 12 kHz –– 15 kHz. The Output 15 kHz. The Output

of the LIF is connected to LINE IN of the Soundcard. of the LIF is connected to LINE IN of the Soundcard.

(24 bit ADC for best performance)(24 bit ADC for best performance)

The MDSR software needs to be installed.The MDSR software needs to be installed.

RFRF--Seismograph is part of the MDSR software package.Seismograph is part of the MDSR software package.

Download at: Download at: http://http://users.skynet.be/myspace/mdsrusers.skynet.be/myspace/mdsr//

Hardware Implementation

To simplify the setup of the unit a Buck voltage regulator is implemented to reduce the 13.8 V to 5 V for the Pi. Since this is done internally, the PI power connector remains empty. The connection between the LIF-2016 and the left audio line input is wired with high-quality shielded audio cable. To reduce inductive RF currents on the shield, a clamp-on ferrite bead is placed over the cable. Grounding is required to reduce the induction of noise generated by the microprocessors and other digital circuits. For best grounding results, follow the schematics for grounding points.

The hardware design of the Raspberry Pi setup to run the RF-Seismograph has to include a sound-card with stereo line-level output and input. The higher the quality of the sound-card input the better the results for the received and demodulated signal. The Raspberry Pi unit requires 5 V and draws up to 2 A from the power source. This is different from all the amateur equipment that usually requires 13.8 V.

Software setup is described in the MDSR.io group Wiki.

RF-Seismograph Setup for Portable UseThe Linux version of the RF-Seismograph can also be set up for touch screen

and portable operation. The Raspberry Pi and the sound card are mounted on the back of the screen. The radio is controlled via CAT interface. The LIF-2016 is required to connect the IF to the sound card.

5 V / 2 A power is supplied via a 12 V car power adaptor. The LIF interface (cast metal box) requires 12 V / 10 mA power.

As always, receiver has to be modified for IF output, which the LIF converts to audio level.

To check out what transceivers can be adapted to use with the LIF interface check out our website at; http://users.skynet.be/myspace/mdsr/index.html

or our Groups.io/MDSR group at:

https://groups.io/g/MDSRadio

LIF 2016•• fits into the option filter slot of many Yaesu and other radiosfits into the option filter slot of many Yaesu and other radios

•• PCB size: 56 mm x 22 mm (2.2PCB size: 56 mm x 22 mm (2.2”” x 0.850x 0.850””) same pin out as option filter) same pin out as option filter

•• only requires +12 V to be wired from inside the radioonly requires +12 V to be wired from inside the radio

•• 12 kHz 12 kHz –– 15 kHz output ready for the soundcard on TB315 kHz output ready for the soundcard on TB3

•• receive onlyreceive only

ConclusionsEarth’s magnetic field seems to be more complicated than what we learned in school. The magnetic field on Earth is much smaller scale than on the sun, where field lines emerge from almost anywhere. The poles on Earth have strong field lines, but the poles are not the only places were the field lines can appear.

Earthquakes are huge generators of RF white noise. Earthquakes use their field lines as antennas, and the RF shockwaves rever-berate around the planet.

These shockwaves emerge in most cases about 1 h to 3 h before the quake releases and are detectable via a RF receiver.

The advantage of using HF is that the propagation of the waves received is worldwide. This allows one radio to able to hear most large earthquakes as the RF-Seismograph has demonstrated.

The field lines generated by an earthquake have the capacity to disrupt radio communications, sometimes for hours.

New science sheds light on different aspects of an earthquake. There is much more going on than just mechanical movement!

ReferencesReferencesAN/FRDAN/FRD--10 HF10 HF--Monitoring StationsMonitoring Stations

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN/FRDhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AN/FRD--1010

Scientific American Scientific American October, 2018: October, 2018: ““Earthquakes in the SkyEarthquakes in the Sky””http://www.ep.sci.hokudai.ac.jp/~heki/pdf/Scientific_American_Vance2018.pdf

Computation of seismograms and atmospheric oscillations by normal-mode summation for a spherical earthmodel with realistic atmosphere(Philippe Lognonne, Eric Clevede and Hiroo Kanamori)

http://www3.telus.net/public/bc237/MDSR/Atmosphere Osc.pdf

Acoustic waves generated from seismic surface waves: propagation properties determined from Doppler sounding observations and normal-mode modeling(Juliette Artru Thomas Farges Philippe Lognonné )https://academic.oup.com/gji/article/158/3/1067/552705

Total Electron Content (TEC) Variations and Correlation with Seismic Activity over Japanhttps://www.jyi.org/2016-october/2017/2/17/total-electron-content-tec-variations-and-correlation-with-seismic-activity-over-japan

Radio waves predict earthquakes, unveil secrets of ionospherehttps://www.natureasia.com/en/nindia/article/10.1038/nindia.2014.143

Earthquakes Canada:Earthquakes Canada:http://www.earthquakescanada.ca

U.S. Geological SurveyU.S. Geological Surveyhttps://www.usgs.gov/

Access to Study for 2017, 2018 (2019 is part of 2018)Access to Study for 2017, 2018 (2019 is part of 2018)http://www3.telus.net/public/bc237/MDSR/Matches-RF-Seismograph and Seismic data for 2017.pdfhttp://www3.telus.net/public/bc237/MDSR/Earthquakes visible with RF-Seismograph 2018.pdf

Download and Install RFDownload and Install RF--Seismograph for Linux and Raspberry PiSeismograph for Linux and Raspberry Pihttps://groups.io/g/MDSRadio/wiki/home

Download MDSR software for PC from:Download MDSR software for PC from:http://users.skynet.be/myspace/mdsr/

Questions?Questions?

Contact information:Contact information:

Alex Schwarz: Alex Schwarz: alexschwarz@telus.net

Website:Website: http://users.skynet.be/myspace/mdsr/

IO Groups user group: IO Groups user group: https://groups.io/g/MDSRadio

SciStarterSciStarter:: https://scistarter.com/project/21138-RF-Seismograph

Thank you for your interest and participation.Thank you for your interest and participation.

Kits are available from VE7DXW.Kits are available from VE7DXW.

© 2019