scholarly journals Dense Seismic Array Study of a Legacy Underground Nuclear Test at the Nevada National Security Site

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evans Awere Onyango ◽  
Robert E. Abbott ◽  
Lindsay L. Worthington ◽  
Leiph A. Preston
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
Seismic Data ◽  
Nuclear Explosion ◽  
Damage Zone ◽  
Nuclear Test ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Burial Depth ◽  
Underground Nuclear Explosion ◽  
Velocity Anomaly ◽  
Weight Drop

ABSTRACT The complex postdetonation geologic structures that form after an underground nuclear explosion are hard to constrain because increased heterogeneity around the damage zone affects seismic waves that propagate through the explosion site. Generally, a vertical rubble-filled structure known as a chimney is formed after an underground nuclear explosion that is composed of debris that falls into the subsurface cavity generated by the explosion. Compared with chimneys that collapse fully, leaving a surface crater, partially collapsed chimneys can have remnant subsurface cavities left in place above collapsed rubble. The 1964 nuclear test HADDOCK, conducted at the Nevada test site (now the Nevada National Security Site), formed a partially collapsed chimney with no surface crater. Understanding the subsurface structure of these features has significant national security applications, such as aiding the study of suspected underground nuclear explosions under a treaty verification. In this study, we investigated the subsurface architecture of the HADDOCK legacy nuclear test using hybrid 2D–3D active source seismic reflection and refraction data. The seismic data were acquired using 275 survey shots from the Seismic Hammer (a 13,000 kg weight drop) and 65 survey shots from a smaller accelerated weight drop, both recorded by ∼1000 three-component 5 Hz geophones. First-arrival, P-wave tomographic modeling shows a low-velocity anomaly at ∼200  m depth, likely an air-filled cavity caused by partial collapse of the rock column into the temporary postdetonation cavity. A high-velocity anomaly between 20 and 60 m depth represents spall-related compaction of the shallow alluvium. Hints of low velocities are also present near the burial depth (∼364  m). The reflection seismic data show a prominent subhorizontal reflector at ∼300  m depth, a short-curved reflector at ∼200  m, and a high-amplitude reflector at ∼50  m depth. Comparisons of the reflection sections to synthetic data and borehole stratigraphy suggest that these features correspond to the alluvium–tuff contact, the partial collapse cavity, and the spalled layer, respectively.

Theoretical signature of a cavern created by an underground nuclear explosion in 2-D exploration seismic data

2020 ◽  
Vol 221 (3) ◽  
pp. 1789-1801
Author(s):  
Stephany Ortiz-Aguilar ◽  
Jonas D De Basabe ◽  
Mario Gonzalez-Escobar ◽  
Vanesa Magar
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Data ◽  
Nuclear Explosion ◽  
Spectral Element ◽  
Nuclear Test ◽  
Underground Nuclear Explosion ◽  
Nuclear Explosions ◽  
Quadrilateral Elements ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
The Time Domain ◽  
Test Ban

SUMMARY The proliferation of nuclear tests is a problem that threatens the safety and health of everybody. In order to tackle this problem, the UN is promoting the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which includes protocols for monitoring and On-Site Inspections (OSI). The purpose of OSI is to verify if a nuclear test has been carried out by identifying with a geophysical technique the presence of a cavern, hole or some device that indicates the violation of the treaty. In this context, it is desirable to be able to use exploration-seismology techniques to detect caverns created by an underground nuclear explosion. However, there is scarce information about the seismic signature of this type of cavern. We present the results of elastic wave propagation simulations, in the time domain, with a cavern created by an underground nuclear explosion. The wave equation is solved using the spectral element method with 4th order basis functions and quadrilateral elements. We show the results for models with cavities and caverns corresponding to explosions of 1, 20 and 100 kilotons, and obtain seismic traces in which we can observe the effect of the structures. We conclude that caverns created by nuclear explosions can be detected using seismic data and distinguished from caves because they behave like two concentric diffractor bodies, as opposed to caves-like diffractors.

Quantitative assessment to the impact of InSAR ionospheric and tropospheric corrections on source parameter modelling: application to the 4th nuclear test, North Korea

2020 ◽  
Vol 224 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-99
Author(s):  
Meng Zhu ◽  
Qiming Zeng ◽  
Jian Jiao
Keyword(s):  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Focal Mechanism ◽  
Quantitative Assessment ◽  
Nuclear Explosion ◽  
Nuclear Test ◽  
Focal Mechanism Solution ◽  
Atmospheric Effects ◽  
Underground Nuclear Explosion ◽  
Tropospheric Corrections ◽  
The Impact

SUMMARY Although many studies have revealed that the atmospheric effects of electromagnetic wave propagation (including ionospheric and tropospheric water vapour) have serious impacts on Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) measurement results, atmospheric corrections have not been thoroughly and comprehensively investigated in many well-known cases of InSAR focal mechanism solutions, which means there is no consensus on whether atmospheric effects will affect the InSAR focal mechanism solution. Moreover, there is a lack of quantitative assessment on how much the atmospheric effect affects the InSAR focal mechanism solution. In this paper, we emphasized that it was particularly important to assess the impact of InSAR ionospheric and tropospheric corrections on the underground nuclear explosion modelling quantitatively. Therefore, we investigated the 4th North Korea (NKT-4) underground nuclear test using ALOS-2 liters-band SAR images. Because the process of the underground nuclear explosion was similar to the volcanic magma source activity, we modelled the ground displacement using the Mogi model. Both the ionospheric and tropospheric phase delays in the interferograms were investigated. Furthermore, we studied how the ionosphere and troposphere phase delays could bias the estimation of Mogi source parameters. The following conclusions were drawn from our case study: the ionospheric delay correction effectively mitigated the long-scale phase ramp in the full-frame interferogram, the standard deviation decreased from 1.83 to 0.85 cm compared to the uncorrected interferogram. The uncorrected estimations of yield and depth were 8.44 kt and 370.33 m, respectively. Compared to the uncorrected estimations, the ionospheric correction increased the estimation of yield and depth to 9.43 kt and 385.48 m, while the tropospheric correction slightly raised them to 8.78 kt and 377.24 m. There were no obvious differences in the location estimations among the four interferograms. When both corrections were applied, the overall standard deviation was 1.16 cm, which was even larger than the ionospheric corrected interferogram. We reported the source characteristics of NKT-4 based on the modelling results derived from the ionospheric corrected interferogram. The preferred estimation of NKT-4 was a Mogi source located at 129°04′22.35‘E, 41°17′54.57″N buried at 385.48 m depth. The cavity radius caused by the underground explosion was 22.66 m. We reported the yield estimation to be 9.43 kt. This study showed that for large-scale natural deformation sources such as volcanoes and earthquakes, atmospheric corrections would be more significant, but even if the atmospheric signal did not have much complexity, the corrections should not be ignored.

scholarly journals Migration of noble gas tracers at the site of an underground nuclear explosion at the Nevada National Security Site

2019 ◽  
Vol 208-209 ◽  
pp. 106047 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Johnson ◽  
C.E. Aalseth ◽  
T.R. Alexander ◽  
T.W. Bowyer ◽  
V. Chipman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
Nuclear Explosion ◽  
Noble Gas ◽  
Underground Nuclear Explosion

scholarly journals Shallow Permafrost at the Crystal Site of Peaceful Underground Nuclear Explosion (Yakutia, Russia): Evidence from Electrical Resistivity Tomography

Energies ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 301
Author(s):  
Svetlana Artamonova ◽  
Alexander Shein ◽  
Vladimir Potapov ◽  
Nikolay Kozhevnikov ◽  
Vladislav Ushnitsky
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Resistivity ◽  
Electrical Resistivity Tomography ◽  
Nuclear Explosion ◽  
Damage Zone ◽  
Underground Nuclear Explosion ◽  
Resistivity Tomography ◽  
Data Inversion ◽  
Natural Land ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
And Migration

The site where a peaceful underground nuclear explosion, Crystal, was detonated in 1974, at a depth of 98 m in perennially frozen Cambrian limestones, was studied by electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) in 2019. The purpose of our research, the results of which are presented in this article, was to assess the current permafrost state at the Crystal site and its surroundings by inversion and interpretation of electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data. Inversion of the ERT data in Res2Dinv verified against ZondRes2D forward models yielded 2D inverted resistivity sections to a depth of 80 m. The ERT images revealed locally degrading permafrost at the Crystal site and its surroundings. The warming effect was caused by two main factors: (i) a damage zone of deformed rocks permeable to heat and fluids, with a radius of 160 m around the emplacement hole; (ii) the removal of natural land cover at the site in 2006. The artificial cover of rock from a nearby quarry, which was put up above the emplacement hole in order to prevent erosion and migration of radionuclides, is currently unfrozen.

Geologic effects of the Rainier underground nuclear explosion : a summary progress report of U.S. Geological Survey investigations

1959 ◽  
Author(s):  
William H. Diment ◽  
V.R. Wilmarth ◽  
R.E. Wilcox ◽  
Alfred Clebsch ◽  
G.E. Manger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Explosion ◽  
Progress Report ◽  
Geological Survey ◽  
Underground Nuclear Explosion

scholarly journals No mafic layer in 80 km thick Tibetan crust

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaochun Wang ◽  
Hans Thybo ◽  
Irina M. Artemieva
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Data ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Indian Plate ◽  
Low Velocity ◽  
Crustal Earthquakes ◽  
Tectonic Processes ◽  
P Wave Velocity ◽  
Juvenile Crust ◽  
Mafic Lower Crust ◽  
Thick Crust

AbstractAll models of the magmatic and plate tectonic processes that create continental crust predict the presence of a mafic lower crust. Earlier proposed crustal doubling in Tibet and the Himalayas by underthrusting of the Indian plate requires the presence of a mafic layer with high seismic P-wave velocity (Vp > 7.0 km/s) above the Moho. Our new seismic data demonstrates that some of the thickest crust on Earth in the middle Lhasa Terrane has exceptionally low velocity (Vp < 6.7 km/s) throughout the whole 80 km thick crust. Observed deep crustal earthquakes throughout the crustal column and thick lithosphere from seismic tomography imply low temperature crust. Therefore, the whole crust must consist of felsic rocks as any mafic layer would have high velocity unless the temperature of the crust were high. Our results form basis for alternative models for the formation of extremely thick juvenile crust with predominantly felsic composition in continental collision zones.

Dense surface seismic data confirm non-double-couple source mechanisms induced by hydraulic fracturing

Geophysics ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
pp. KS207-KS217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy D. Pesicek ◽  
Konrad Cieślik ◽  
Marc-André Lambert ◽  
Pedro Carrillo ◽  
Brad Birkelo
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Seismic Data ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Source Modeling ◽  
Moment Tensors ◽  
Amplitude Data ◽  
Double Couple ◽  
Source Mechanisms ◽  
Source Models ◽  
Favorable Conditions

We have determined source mechanisms for nine high-quality microseismic events induced during hydraulic fracturing of the Montney Shale in Canada. Seismic data were recorded using a dense regularly spaced grid of sensors at the surface. The design and geometry of the survey are such that the recorded P-wave amplitudes essentially map the upper focal hemisphere, allowing the source mechanism to be interpreted directly from the data. Given the inherent difficulties of computing reliable moment tensors (MTs) from high-frequency microseismic data, the surface amplitude and polarity maps provide important additional confirmation of the source mechanisms. This is especially critical when interpreting non-shear source processes, which are notoriously susceptible to artifacts due to incomplete or inaccurate source modeling. We have found that most of the nine events contain significant non-double-couple (DC) components, as evident in the surface amplitude data and the resulting MT models. Furthermore, we found that source models that are constrained to be purely shear do not explain the data for most events. Thus, even though non-DC components of MTs can often be attributed to modeling artifacts, we argue that they are required by the data in some cases, and can be reliably computed and confidently interpreted under favorable conditions.

Lithospheric architecture of the Ligurian Basin from seismic travel time tomography

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anke Dannowski ◽  
Heidrun Kopp ◽  
Ingo Grevemeyer ◽  
Grazia Caielli ◽  
Roberto de Franco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seismic Data ◽  
Velocity Model ◽  
P Wave ◽  
Central Basin ◽  
Uppermost Mantle ◽  
Mantle Boundary ◽  
Oceanic Spreading ◽  
Refraction Seismic ◽  
Back Arc ◽  
Ligurian Basin

&lt;p&gt;The Ligurian Basin is located north-west of Corsica at the transition from the western Alpine orogen to the Apennine system. The Back-arc basin was generated by the southeast retreat of the Apennines-Calabrian subduction zone. The opening took place from late Oligocene to Miocene. While the extension led to extreme continental thinning little is known about the style of back-arc rifting. Today, seismicity indicates the closure of this back-arc basin. In the basin, earthquake clusters occur in the lower crust and uppermost mantle and are related to re-activated, inverted, normal faults created during rifting.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;To shed light on the present day crustal and lithospheric architecture of the Ligurian Basin, active seismic data have been recorded on short period ocean bottom seismometers in the framework of SPP2017 4D-MB, the German component of AlpArray. An amphibious refraction seismic profile was shot across the Ligurian Basin in an E-W direction from the Gulf of Lion to Corsica. The profile comprises 35 OBS and three land stations at Corsica to give a complete image of the continental thinning including the necking zone.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The majority of the refraction seismic data show mantle phases with offsets up to 70 km. The arrivals of seismic phases were picked and used to generate a 2-D P-wave velocity model. The results show a crust-mantle boundary in the central basin at ~12 km depth below sea surface. The P-wave velocities in the crust reach 6.6 km/s at the base. The uppermost mantle shows velocities &gt;7.8 km/s. The crust-mantle boundary becomes shallower from ~18 km to ~12 km depth within 30 km from Corsica towards the basin centre. The velocity model does not reveal an axial valley as expected for oceanic spreading. Further, it is difficult to interpret the seismic data whether the continental lithosphere was thinned until the mantle was exposed to the seafloor. However, an extremely thinned continental crust indicates a long lasting rifting process that possibly did not initiate oceanic spreading before the opening of the Ligurian Basin stopped. The distribution of earthquakes and their fault plane solutions, projected along our seismic velocity model, is in-line with the counter-clockwise opening of the Ligurian Basin.&lt;/p&gt;

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