Nonlinear evolution of the atmosphere above a seismic epicenter: 1. Analytical estimates

The spatiotemporal atmospheric variations are studied, and the nonlinear effects above seismic epicenters are revealed. An analytical description of the acoustic pulse nonlinear evolution for a situation when earthquakes with a magnitude larger than M = 4–5 and surface explosions with an energy higher than 30–1000 t equivalent yield affect the atmosphere has been obtained based on the Landau-Whitham method. A comparison of seismic data and data on air explosions made it possible to obtain a formula for estimating the fraction of the earthquake energy released into the atmosphere. The seismic phenomena have been characterized based on the value of the nonlinear effects originating in the atmosphere.