Accurate locations of nuclear explosions in Balapan, Kazakhstan, 1987 to 1989

Journal Article · Fri Mar 05 04:00:00 EST 1993 · Geophysical Research Letters (American Geophysical Union); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/93GL00173· OSTI ID:6534561

Thurber, C H; Quin, H R ^[1]; Richards, P G ^[2]

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1. Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison (United States)
2. Columbia Univ., Palisades, NY (United States)

Locations of 20 nuclear explosions from 1987 to 1989 at the Balapan test site, Kazakhstan, are derived with a precision of about 100 m from time-sequence SPOT satellite images combined with teleseismic epicenter estimates. For most events, there is little or no ambiguity in the association between seismic events and image features. The locations determined by JED are associated with formal error estimates (95% confidence ellipses) that are significantly too small. In 16 out of 19 cases, the events are found from satellite imagery to lie outside these ellipses. Possible causes are nonuniform observation, poor azimuthal coverage, and source region heterogeneity. These results should prove valuable for studies of seismic waveforms, arrival time and amplitude tomography, event location, tectonic release, and seismic coupling at Balapan, and demonstrate the utility of combined seismic and satellite image analyses for seismic verification studies. 14 refs., 3 figs., 2 tabs.

• OSTI ID: 6534561
• Journal Information: Geophysical Research Letters (American Geophysical Union); (United States), Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters (American Geophysical Union); (United States) Vol. 20:5; ISSN GPRLAJ; ISSN 0094-8276
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

350300 -- Arms Control-- Verification-- (1987-)
45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
450300* -- Military Technology
Weaponry
& National Defense-- Nuclear Explosion Detection
98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL PROTECTION
ASIA
DETECTION
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
DISTRIBUTION
EXPLOSIONS
IMAGES
KAZAKHSTAN
NUCLEAR EXPLOSION DETECTION
NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS
REMOTE SENSING
SATELLITES
SEISMIC EVENTS
SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION
TOMOGRAPHY
UNDERGROUND EXPLOSIONS