Nuclear Explosion Monitoring: History, Seismology, and Statistics

• Activity Number: 191
• Type: Invited
• Date/Time: Tuesday, August 5, 2003 : 8:30 AM to 10:20 AM
• Sponsor: Seismological Society of America
• Author(s): Aaron A. Velasco*+
• Companies: University of Texas
• Keywords: seismology ; nuclear explosion monitoring

Abstract

Since the detonation of the first nuclear weapon test and the development of nuclear weapons, several key treaties between nuclear states have been signed, ratified, and executed. The geological sciences have been used for verifying these treaties, which has transformed and impacted the field. For example, nuclear explosion monitoring was responsible for the installation of a global network of seismic stations allowing for the location of earthquakes. Earthquake locations provided a vital key for the development of plate tectonic theory. Since 1963, nuclear tests have been conducted underground. The main technology for detecting, locating, and identifying an underground test is through the use of seismograms (and the field of seismology), which record seismic waves. Until recently, there were few countries that tested large nuclear weapons; but we must now monitor for small nuclear tests that may occur anywhere in the world. This presents a new challenge for seismology; we must detect, locate, and discriminate small nuclear weapon tests from earthquakes. This talk will discuss these challenges and highlight several aspects that have been addressed through the use of statistics.