Electromechanical couplings between the earth's ionosphere and lithosphere

Experimental results obtained in seismically active zones indicate that the ionosphere has an effect on mechanical processes inside the lithosphere and hence on processes leading to earthquakes. The observed effect lasts for periods up to 2-3 hours and corresponds to torsional shifts of the surface of the D-component of geomagnetic pulsations. The interaction has a pronounceed nonlinear character. The physical mechanism of this phenomenon has not yet been clarified; it may be related to the variable magnetic field excited in the near-earth plasma and significantly controlled by the solar wind.