Electrokinetic effect in porous rocks of the sea coast provided by long sea waves

Abstract

We analyze theoretically ultra-low frequency electromagnetic noise caused by deformations of seabed and porous coastal rocks subjected to incident long oceanic waves. A variable pressure on the seabed due to propagation of long gravity waves (LGWs) gives rise to variations in pore pressure gradient followed by groundwater filtration in pores and channels of porous rocks. These processes result in the generation of telluric electric currents in water-saturated porous rock of the seashore due to electrokinetic effect. In the model a displacement of the sea surface in LGWs is described in the "shallow water" approximation. A set of basic equations describing rock strain and electrokinetic effect is solved in quasi-static approximation. The telluric electric field in the porous rocks of coastal zone are found as a function of depth and distance to the coastline at different frequencies of LGWs. The theoretical analysis has shown that telluric electric noise produced by the LGW can exceed the level of natural electric noise during geomagnetically quiet period in a coastal strip about several tens of meters.