Comparison of the non-proliferation event aftershocks with other Nevada Test Site events

摘要

As part of a larger effort to develop technology for on-site inspection of ambiguous underground seismic events, we have been working to identify phenomenology of aftershock seismicity which would be useful for discriminating between nuclear explosions, chemical explosions, earthquakes or other seismic events. Phenomenology we have investigated includes; the spatial distribution of aftershocks, the number of aftershocks as a function of time after the main event, the size of the aftershocks, and waveform frequency content. Our major conclusions are: (1) Depending on local geologic conditions, aftershock production rate two weeks after zero time ranges from 1 to 100 per day. (2) Aftershocks of concentrated chemical explosions such as the NPE are indistinguishable from aftershocks of nuclear explosions. (3) Earthquake and explosion aftershock sequences may be differentiated on the basis of depth, magnitude, and in some cases, frequency content of seismic signals.