Refinement of Different Frequency Bands of Geomagnetic Vertical Intensity Polarization Anomalies before M > 5.5 Earthquakes

Abstract

Geomagnetic vertical intensity polarization is a method with a clear mechanism, mature processing methods, and a strong ability to extract anomalous information in the quantitative analysis of seismogenic geomagnetic disturbances. The existing analyses of geomagnetic vertical intensity polarization are all based on the 5~100 s frequency band without refinement of the partitioning process. Although many successful results have been obtained, there are still two problems in the process of extracting anomalies: the geomagnetic anomalies that satisfy the determination criteria are still high in occurrence frequency; and the anomalies are distributed over too large an area in space, which leads to difficulties in determining the location of the epicenter. In this study, based on observations from western China, where fluxgate observation points are positioned in areas with frequent, densely distributed medium-strength earthquakes, we refined the frequency bands of geomagnetic vertical intensity polarization, recalculated the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of geomagnetic disturbances before earthquakes, and improved the crossover frequency anomaly prediction index while promoting the application of the method in earthquake forecasting.