Anomalous Geomagnetic Signal Emphasized before the Mw8.2 Coastal Alaska Earthquake, Occurred on 29 July 2021

Abstract

A very strong earthquake of magnitude Mw8.2 struck the coastal zone of Alaska (USA), on 29 July 2021. This earthquake was felt around the Gulf of Alaska, on a wide offshore area belonging to USA and Canada. In order to identify an anomalous geomagnetic signal before the onset of this earthquake, we retrospectively analyze the data collected on the interval 17 June–31 July 2021, via internet, at the two geomagnetic observatories, College (CMO)—Alaska and Newport (NEW)—USA, by using the polarization parameter (BPOL) and the strain effect related to geomagnetic signal identification. Thus, for both observation sites (CMO and NEW), the daily mean distribution of the BPOL and its standard deviation (STDEV) are carried out using an FFT band-pass filtering in the ULF range (0.001–0.0083 Hz). Further on, a statistical analysis based on a standardized random variable equation is applied to emphasize the following: (a) the anomalous signature related to Mw8.2 earthquake on the both time series BPOL*(CMO) and BPOL*(NEW); (b) the differentiation of the transient local anomalies associated with Mw8.2 earthquake from the internal and external parts of the geomagnetic field, taking the NEW observatory as reference. Finally, on the BPOL*(NEW-CMO) time series, carried out on the interval 7–31 July 2021, a very clear anomaly of maximum, greater than 1.2 STDEV, was detected on 22 July, with 7 days before the onset of the Mw8.2 earthquake.