Geologic and Engineering Constraints on the Feasibility of Clandestine Nuclear Testing by Decoupling in Large Underground Cavities; Open File Rept

摘要

A central issue in assessing the verifiability of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) is the potential for a determined country to conduct a nuclear test clandestinely that is, evading detection and identification by the various international and national monitoring systems. Among a number of potential evasion scenarios that have been considered (e.g., detonation in outer space, during an earthquake, in low-coupling geologic media, in remote ocean areas, or in the atmosphere under heavy cloud cover, see, e.g., OTA, 1988), evading detection by decoupling the seismic signal of the explosion in a large cavity constructed deep underground has received considerable attention.