What is it about?

This study presents geopolariton tomography (GPTS), a passive geophysical method for investigating the dynamic state of the Earth's lithosphere. The approach is based on the statistical analysis of natural electromagnetic signals recorded at the Earth’s surface. Rather than analyzing signal frequency or amplitude, GPTS introduces the event index (λ) as a key parameter that reflects transitions between coupled electromechanical states in stressed geological media. The concept of “geopolariton states” refers to coupled electromechanical responses arising in rocks under stress. Within this framework, surface electromagnetic events are interpreted as manifestations of internal reorganization processes within the lithosphere, rather than as direct signals originating from depth. A case study in the Northern Tien Shan (Bishkek–Tokmak profile) shows that the method can identify zones of stress accumulation and regions of reduced seismic activity (seismic quiescence). Earthquake hypocenters form stable spatial structures (ellipsoids), with stronger events tending to occur near their boundaries.

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Why is it important?

Traditional seismic and electromagnetic methods primarily provide structural images of the subsurface and may have limited sensitivity to slow stress accumulation processes. Geopolariton tomography is designed to analyze the dynamic state of the lithosphere using the event index (λ) to detect pre-critical changes. The method can be used to identify zones of stress accumulation, monitor fault activity, and detect seismic quiescence, thereby serving as a tool for diagnostics and monitoring.

Perspectives

Further development will require stronger physical justification of model parameters, larger datasets, improved noise filtering, and independent validation. Integration with seismic and geodetic data is essential. The method can be applied to monitoring the Northern Tien Shan and other highly seismic regions.

Serhiy Prokopenko
Kyrgyz State Technical University named after Iskhak Razzakov

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This page is a summary of: Geopolariton tomography of the internal structure of earth: a passive method for analyzing seismogenic zones, Geofizicheskiy Zhurnal, April 2026, Institute of Geophysics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine by S.I. Subbotin name,
DOI: 10.24028/gj.v48i2.349923.
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