Strange waves, interplanetary magnetic fields, modulation of the solar wind current sheet… Coronal Holes play a role in many electromagnetic phenomena. There is a long-term average of three M6 earthquakes per week but there is almost never exactly 3 in any given week- it’s 1, 8, 0, 4, 5, 2, 7, 1, etc. There is an ebb and flow of above and below average activity; using coronal holes as the primary factor, we have a +90% success rate in predicting those time periods in our daily news posted at Suspicious0bservers.org.
For those really interested in the minutia, many more details can be found here and here for members, along with detailed discussion on our podcast, Fly on the Wall.
Before the SDO satellite in late 2010, there was significantly poorer coverage and identification of coronal holes. The following are the coronal holes present for the largest earthquakes in recent times.
January 22nd, 2017 – Multiple coronal holes crossing the equator appeared to most-significantly effect the equatorial regions. Weaker coronal holes are less visible south of the primary one visible here.
M7.9 in Papua New Guinea
November 13th, 2016 – Strong southern coronal holes magnetic fields connected with the earth on November 11th and 12th, and lasted for a few days.
M7.8 in New Zealand
April 16th, 2016 – North and south coronal holes pushed to lower latitudes in the earth-facing position. It was the onset of geo-effective IMF from the northern fields.
M7.8 in Ecuador
Sep 16th, 2015 – Strong coronal hole on the north began a slow uptick in a seismicity to a crescendo as the equatorial portion directly faced earth.
M8.3 in Chile
April 25, 2015 – A strong coronal hole directly faced earth on the south, and a trans-equatorial opening entered the earth-facing 1/4 of the sun.
M7.8 in Nepal
June 23, 2014 – Large, moderately powerful coronal holes were on the north and south, with a powerful trans-equatorial opening beginning to directly face earth.
M7.9 in Alaska
April 2, 2014 – A strong coronal hole appeared on the north, moderately powerful openings are seen on the south and having just departed the earth-facing 1/4 in a trans-equatorial position.
M8.2 in Chile
May 24, 2013 – A monstrous coronal hole directly faced earth on the north.
M8.3 in Russia
February 6, 2013 – Powerful coronal holes faced earth on the north and south.
M8.0 in the Solomon Islands
April 11, 2012 – An intensely powerful coronal hole faced earth in a trans-equatorial position.
M8.7 in Sumatra
M8.2 in Sumatra
March 11, 2011 – A monstrous trans-equatorial coronal hole covered the polar opening to northern latitudes. Perhaps the most amazing coronal hole ever witness by the SDO satellite.
M9.0 in Japan
October 25, 2010 – This was prior to the final calibrations of the satellite, and only the most wide-open areas of the corona are visible. Multiple coronal holes were present.
M7.8 in Indonesia
February 27, 2010 – Welcome to the world prior to SDO. I am relying on the diligence of Dr. Tony Phillips at SpaceWeather.com and his historical archives to show this strong equatorial coronal hole.
M8.8 in Chile
Christmas 2004 – Once again, I’m relying on Dr. Phillips’ archives. Much of the SOHO data on which he relied is now missing or unavailable. Here we see a strong trans-equatorial coronal hole.
M9.1 in Sumatra