Seismoacoustic Explosion Yield and Depth Estimation: Insights from the Large Surface Explosion Coupling Experiment
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
The Large Surface Explosion Coupling Experiment (LSECE) is a chemical explosion experiment conducted in Yucca Flat at the Nevada National Security Site in 2020. The experiment included two surface detonations of ~1000 kg trinitrotoluene equivalent. The main goal of this experiment was to provide the ground-truth data for seismoacoustic wave excitation by large chemical explosions near the ground surface. The seismic and acoustic energy partitioning between the surface is strongly governed by the depth or height of explosions, and either seismic or acoustic-only analysis may have inherent ambiguity in determining explosion yield and depth simultaneously. Previous studies suggested that joint seismoacoustic analysis can resolve the trade-off and reduce the uncertainty of yield and depth estimation dramatically. Here we demonstrate the capability of seismoacoustic analysis to improve the accuracy of explosion yield and depth estimation with the LSECE data. Local acoustic wave propagation in the atmosphere can be substantially affected by constantly varying weather conditions. Consisting of two detonations before dawn and in the afternoon, LSECE provides unique data to evaluate the model accuracy of acoustic wave propagation and seismoacoustic energy partitioning depending on local atmospheric conditions. We quantitatively evaluate the accuracy of yield and depth estimation depending on atmospheric variability and the improvement achieved by the joint seismoacoustic approach.
- Research Organization:
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC52-07NA27344
- OSTI ID:
- 1968131
- Report Number(s):
- LLNL-JRNL-841545; 1062599
- Journal Information:
- Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, Journal Name: Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America Journal Issue: N/A Vol. N/A; ISSN 0037-1106
- Publisher:
- Seismological Society of AmericaCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Date Release Report for Large Surface Explosion Coupling Experiment (LSECE) Nevada National Security Site