Application of Active Seismic and Electrical Methods to Detect and Characterize Subsurface Effects of an Underground Explosion

Technical Report · Mon Feb 10 04:00:00 EST 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1129148· OSTI ID:1129148

Sweeney, J. J. ^[1]; Mellors, R. J. ^[1]

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1. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

During the period of underground nuclear testing in the U.S., now ended for over 20 years, the focus of work was to conduct the test and analyze the data as quickly as possible; there was little concern about application of technologies that could be used to detect and characterize the location and depth of the explosion. Thus, there is little experience with applying geophysical methods in places where an underground nuclear explosion (UNE) has taken place. On the other hand, application of geophysical methods to the detection of shallow artifacts and water table depth is commonly applied in the environmental remediation and site characterization realm of commercial geophysical surveys. For nuclear nonproliferation treaty applications which may incorporate both shallow and deep geophysical probing methods (such as on-site inspection (OSI) under the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty [CTBT]), there thus remains a need to better understand detection capabilities of the deeper targets: anomalies related to an explosion cavity or rubble zone that may be located several hundred meters below the ground surface. The purpose of this Coordinated Inspection Technologies (CIT) project was to gain experience in applying active seismic methods and electrical methods at a site in Nevada where an underground nuclear test (UNE) had been conducted in the past to get a better understanding of the capabilities of these methods for detection and characterization of deep subsurface effects of the explosion.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48; AC52-07NA27344
• OSTI ID: 1129148
• Report Number(s): LLNL--TR-649717
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION