Changes in the lithosphere, atmosphere, and ionosphere before and during the Mw = 7.7 Jamaica 2020 earthquake

The details of the earthquake preparation phase are still an open scientific debate. Eventual lithosphere-atmosphere-ionosphere coupling effects before and during the Mw = 7.7 Jamaica 2020 earthquake are investigated here. Interesting SO2 emissions followed by magnetic ionospheric anomalies have been recorded about three months in advance. A seismic acceleration started about 40 days before the mainshock when China Seismo Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES-01) and Swarm jointly observed increased ionospheric electron density. Furthermore, China Seismo Electromagnetic Satellite showed anomalous high electron density in 1 to 5 days following a seismicity enhancement supporting a lithosphere-ionosphere electromagnetic coupling. Finally, China Seismo Electromagnetic Satellite and Swarm detected an electromagnetic signal a few seconds before the earthquake, probably due to its nucleation. About 10 min later, China Seismo Electromagnetic Satellite and US geomagnetic ground stations observed a magnetic pulse, likely induced by the fault assessment. Our results provide several indications of geospheres coupling on the occasion of the Jamaica earthquake, which is explainable in light of the available geological and geophysical information. A space-time convergence of the anomalies toward the interested fault further supports their possible relationship with the Mw = 7.7 Jamaica earthquake.