Upper Atmospheric Responses to Surface Disturbances: An Observational Perspective

We review observations on the coupling between Earth’s surface disturbances and the upper atmosphere. In particular, we focus on the upper atmospheric responses to atmospheric acoustic-gravity waves generated during impulsive surface disturbance events including earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. We review the theoretical background for the generation and propagation of atmospheric acoustic-gravity waves from surface disturbance events as well as of the ionospheric plasma response to such acoustic-gravity waves. We review a variety of observational techniques that have been successfully utilized to detect upper atmospheric perturbations induced by surface disturbances and summarize the state-of-the-art knowledge on the coupling processes learnt from these observations. Finally, we touch on some most recent advances in the field and propose directions for future research.