## 8 Conclusions  
This study showed that information on seismic nucleation and rupture could be captured by observing changes in rock temperature and their coupling with the ionosphere. Observations of the Jiashi \(M_{8}6.4\) earthquake showed that the bedrock temperature is sensitive to changes in stress loading and exhibited space-time consistency. Mechanically, the seismogenic characteristics are consistent with the transition from the elastic stage to the plastic yield stage. The spatial-temporal evolution of the medium-term changes of rock temperature can be applied to determine the location of future large earthquakes, while the short-term synchronous changes may reveal the short impending earthquake potential in the region. The obvious acceleration and fluctuation of ground temperature at multiple observation stations before the earthquake demonstrated that the fault was entering the sub-steady state. The time series of the LURR confirms the relationship between ground temperature variation and fault sub-instability. This accelerated fluctuation should be generated in the context of strong stress. In addition, the vibration of the fault and the change in the temperature field may form an acoustic gravity wave, causing the ionosphere to oscillate synchronously. The synchronous changes in rock temperature and the ionosphere may reveal fault instability. These findings are useful for further exploration of the coupling mechanism of the geophysical field before strong earthquakes and the development mechanism of earthquake nucleation and rupture. However, the coupling mechanism of rock temperature and the ionosphere requires further verification by theoretical models.  
Conceptualization, D.J. and H.Y.; methodology, H.Y.; software, Y.M.; formal analysis, B.Z.; resources, Y.M.; writing--original draft preparation, D.J.; writing--review and editing, H.Y. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This research was funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China, grant number 2018 YFE0109700; the Earthquake Joint Fund of National Natural Science Foundation of China, grant number U2039205; the Key R & D subprojects in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Multi-time scale probability prediction of strong earthquake on the north slope of Tianshan Mountain), grant number 2020B03006-3; and the Xinjiang Earthquake Science Foundation, grant number 202102.  
Not applicable.  
Figure 8: Typical rock constitutive curves and behavior. P and R represent, respectively, the load and response. In stage OA, the response (\(\Delta\)R) to the small changes of \(\Delta\)P in the loading and unloading are almost the same. At stage AB, the response to loading is significantly greater than unloading, and stage BC is characterized by macroscopic damage. L1/L2 is the auxiliary line.  
**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.  
**Data Availability Statement:** All data used during the study are available from the corresponding author by request.  
**Acknowledgments:** The data in this paper came from ground temperature observation stations constructed jointly by the Institute of Geology, China Earthquake Administration, and the Seismological Bureau of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. We thank [PERSON] for the advice and help provided during this study. We also thank [PERSON], [PERSON], and staff at the Kashi earthquake monitoring center station for support and help with the bedrock temperature observations.  
**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.