Illuminating the North Korean nuclear explosion test in 2017 using remote infrasound observations

Che, Il-Young; Kim, Keehoon; Le Pichon, Alexis; Park, Junghyun; Arrowsmith, Stephen; Stump, Brian

doi:10.1093/gji/ggab338

Illuminating the North Korean nuclear explosion test in 2017 using remote infrasound observations

Journal Article · Fri Aug 20 00:00:00 EDT 2021 · Geophysical Journal International

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggab338· OSTI ID:1833803

^[1]; ^[2]; Le Pichon, Alexis ^[3]; Park, Junghyun ^[4]; Arrowsmith, Stephen ^[4]; Stump, Brian ^[4]

Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, Daejeon (South Korea). Earthquake Research Center
Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
CEA, DAM, DIF, Arpajon (France)
Southern Methodist Univ., Dallas, TX (United States)

North Korea conducted its sixth underground nuclear explosion test (mb 6.3) on 2017 September 3. The underground explosion produced substantial low-frequency atmospheric waves, which were detected by infrasound arrays located up to a distance of 566 km. These infrasound waves are formed by the conversion of seismic energy to acoustic energy across the lithosphere–atmosphere interface. While infrasound records at regional distances produce estimates of ground motion amplitude over spatially extended regions covering about 26 500 km², 3-D full seismo-acoustic simulations within the lithosphere and atmosphere provide quantitative information about seismo-acoustic energy partitioning. Our results demonstrate the capability of remote infrasound observations combined with 3-D propagation modelling to further develop discrimination methods for underground sources. These results contribute to enhance the confidence of source identification and characterization in nuclear test monitoring research, which is essential for the enforcement of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: Ministry of Science and ICT of Korea (MSIT); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-07NA27344

OSTI ID:: 1833803

Report Number(s):: LLNL-JRNL--809247; 1010871

Journal Information:: Geophysical Journal International, Journal Name: Geophysical Journal International Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 228; ISSN 0956-540X

Publisher:: Oxford University PressCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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