Can solar storms trigger earthquakes? Scientists propose surprising link
Science Daily
February 24, 2026
AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary
Scientists have proposed a groundbreaking link between solar activity and earthquakes, suggesting that disturbances in the Earth's ionosphere caused by intense solar flares might play a role in triggering seismic events. According to researchers at Kyoto University, when solar activity disrupts the ionosphere, it can generate electric fields that penetrate deep into the Earth's crust. If a fault line is already under significant stress, these electrostatic forces could potentially contribute to the onset of an earthquake. While this theory does not establish direct causation, it offers a new perspective on how space weather and seismic activity might interact.
The model suggests that fractured zones in the Earth's crust, often associated with high-temperature water in supercritical states, can behave like capacitors. These regions are connected to both the Earth's surface and the lower ionosphere, forming a vast electrostatic system. During periods of intense solar activity, such as solar flares, the ionosphere becomes negatively charged, creating electric fields within microscopic voids in fractured rock. The resulting electrostatic pressure could rival tidal or gravitational stresses that are known to influence fault stability.
Observations have shown unusual ionospheric behavior before major earthquakes, including spikes in electron density and drops in ionospheric altitude. Traditionally, these changes were attributed to internal crustal stress. However, this new framework proposes a two-way interaction: processes within the Earth can affect the ionosphere, while ionospheric disturbances may also exert feedback forces on the crust. This connection is particularly intriguing when considering recent earthquakes in Japan, such as the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake, which occurred shortly after significant solar flare activity.
By integrating insights from plasma physics, atmospheric science, and geophysics, this research challenges the conventional view that earthquakes
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Originally published on Science Daily on 2/24/2026