Full Wave Calculation of the Source Characteristics of Seismogenic Electromagnetic Signals as Observed at LEO Satellite Altitudes

We perform a numerical analysis of the propagation of electromagnetic waves that originate below the Earth's surface and are observed at low Earth orbit (LEO) altitudes, in support of recent missions such as QuakeSat I and Demeter, whose primary objective is the detection and identification of seismogenic electromagnetic signals. For our investigation we subdivide the intervening medium between source and observation into a large number of horizontally stratified, anisotropic slabs and solve the full-wave equations using the matrix method introduced by Nagano et al. [1975]. The effects of the altitude variations of the conducting ground, ionospheric electron density and collision frequency, as well as ion composition are easily included in our model, and we present results as a function of wave frequency and initial wave normal angle for the example case of the Dec. 22 2004, M6.4 San Simeon earthquake.