Landing the Big One

Landing the Big One

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Watching North Korea - using seismic tools

It's not unique, but it's interesting that it got covered as reported here:
A normally unburdened South Korean earthquake center has become the front line of the world's vigil for North Korea's first nuclear test, monitoring the peninsula's geological pulse with seismic sensors and sound detectors.
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On Monday, the head of South Korea's intelligence agency, Kim Seung-kyu, said the North was ready to test a nuclear device at any time, but there was no direct sign that the communist nation was preparing a detonation.
Still, the South Korean center remains on the lookout using two methods: infrasound and seismic waves.
The most reliable means of confirming a nuclear test would be from infrasound -- ultralow noises from an explosion below the range of human hearing.
Did you know the Univeristy of Hawaii operates an Infrasound Laboratory ("ISLA")?
At ISLA our primary mission is to operate listening stations as part of the International Monitoring System of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. We also conduct research into acoustic source processes, propagation, instrumentation, signal and array processing, and software development.

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