Seismic methods for verifying nuclear test bans

Conference · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1983 · AIP Conf. Proc.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5937324

Sykes, L R; Evernden, J F; Cifuentes, I

Seismological research of the past 25 years related to verification of a Threshold Test Ban Treaty (TTBT) indicates that a treaty banning nuclear weapons tests in all environments, including underground explosions, can be monitored with high reliability down to explosions of very small size (about one kiloton). There would be high probability of successful identification of explosions of that size even if elaborate measures were taken to evade detection. Seismology provides the principal means of detecting, locating and identifying underground explosions and of determining their yields. The authors discuss a number of methods for identifying detected seismic events as being either explosions or earthquakes including the event's location, depth and spectral character. The seismic waves generated by these two types of sources differ in a number of fundamental ways that can be utilized for identification or discrimination. 14 references, 17 figures, 3 tables.

• Research Organization: Columbia Univ., Palisades, NY
• OSTI ID: 5937324
• Report Number(s): CONF-830463-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: AIP Conf. Proc.; (United States) Journal Volume: 104
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290600 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Nuclear Energy
45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
450300* -- Military Technology
Weaponry
& National Defense-- Nuclear Explosion Detection
DETECTION
DISCRIMINATORS
DOCUMENT TYPES
ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS
EXPLOSIONS
NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY
NUCLEAR EXPLOSION DETECTION
REVIEWS
SEISMIC DETECTION
SEISMIC WAVES
TREATIES
UNDERGROUND EXPLOSIONS