New technology enables detection of nuclear tests from a distance

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The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has recently conducted an experiment to improve the U.S. ability to recognise and identify low-yield underground nuclear explosions. At the end of last May the NNSA, along with a team of national labs and others, has conducted the experiment in a federal nuclear site in Nevada. This is the fourth experiment of its kind since 2011 and seven more such field experiments are already scheduled – the next one is due at fall. The experiment is designed to allow not only recognizing an explosion from a large distance, but also to analyze the data in order to determine the kind of explosion and its force.

The last experiment made use of chemical nuclear weapon equivelant to 88kg of TNT, in a controlled and closed environment 460km under the surface of the ground.  The information gathered, including seismic and infrasound data among others, will help researchers to validate modeling, theory, and improve tools that the U.S. can use to independently verify international compliance with treaties and commitments. Experiments from 1950 to 1992 were conducted in small scales, size and depth wise, due to cost and safety considerations, but recent experiments expand those scales in order to improve the ability to track nuclear explosions overseas.

The significance of experiments this depth and size is tremendous. Beyond the technological development with all it implies and the consequences on other potential fields – geological and seismic for instance – the significance in international security is huge as it allows the U.S. to track actions overseas in a diplomatic, non-invasive fashion, which might help to keep the status-quo, even if a tense one, between the world’s countries and allow supervision from a-far which will not disturb the peace.