N E W S

UW Seismology at the CTBTO Expert Meeting on Seismic Techniques

24.11.2015

Last week, Prof. Götz Bokelmann and two researchers from the geophysics group, Dr. Sofi Esterhazy and Dr. Felix Schneider, attended an expert meeting organized by the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) at the Vienna International City (VIC). Approximately 30 experts from all over the world have been invited to discuss new developments on seismic techniques for an On-Site Inspection (OSI) that can help to verify whether an underground nuclear explosion has been conducted at a particular site.

Findings from a previous OSI field exercise have been reviewed and a new discussion panel on resonance seismometry has been launched. There, many seismological techniques have been evaluated regarding their potential to detect underground anomalies such as cavities and rubble zones - typical vestiges of underground nuclear tests. Numerical modeling of the full seismic wavefield has been taken under consideration as an powerful tool to get deeper insight in the causes of observed anomalies and to test and develop techniques for this special target.

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