Estimates of Crater Dimensions for Near-Surface Explosions of Nuclear and High-Explosive Sources

摘要

Crater data from numerous high-explosive (HE) experiments and from fewer nuclear explosive (NE) tests are used to develop an empirically based procedure for predicting crater dimensions from nuclear explosions in various geologic media. The HE crater data are used to rank the cratering efficiency of various geologies. NE crater data from dry soil at the Nevada Test Site and from saturated coral at Eniwetok and Bikini atolls are used to relate NE and HE cratering efficiency. Crater shapes from explosive and impact craters are examined to provide a basis for estimating crater radius and depth in a given geology once the crater volume is known. Best estimates of the crater volume and dimensions are presented along with an estimated range of uncertainty. (ERA citation 04:001300)