comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty:science and
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COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR-TEST-BAN TREATY: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 2 0 1 1 – Contribution T3-P41
Can OSI use off the shelf techniques?Mordechai Melamud & Luis R. Gaya-Piqué
OSI Division, [email protected]; [email protected]
A careful consideration of Paragraph 69 in Part II of the Protocol to the CTBT shows that the list of techniques allowed to be used during anon-site inspection (OSI) is 16; moreover, they can be used on or under the ground, from the air, etc. All of these technologies areestablished scientific methods familiar to experts in fields such as geology, radionuclide measurements, seismometry or geophysics.According to the CTBT Protocol, scientists, functioning as inspectors, are expected to utilize these techniques for detection of observablesresulting from a nuclear explosion. However, these observables, their spatial scale, and the amplitude of the anomalies they produce, aremuch different from what scientists are used to in their daily activities. It is therefore required to develop a specific concept of operationsfor each technique different to a certain degree from the one used in scientific campaigns. Also, the difference in resolution of the targetmeans that it is necessary to invest in R&D programs for developing the specific OSI application with appropriate resolution. Some of thetechniques need heavy equipment which does not fit OSI field campaigns and require the development of a light, field operable version.For some techniques there are special requirements which require re-engineering to comply with Treaty requirements. This posterpresents the detailed list of OSI techniques and the challenges in their application during an OSI, their adequacy to be used as off-the-shelfequipment or, on the contrary, the need to adapt the technologies to the OSI specifics.
Protocol, Part II, Paragraph 69 - Inspection Activities and Techniques
The following inspection activities may be conducted and techniques used, in accordance with the provisions on managed access, oncollection, handling and analysis of samples, and on overflights:(a) Position finding from the air and at the surface to confirm the boundaries of the inspection area and establish co-ordinates oflocations therein, in support of the inspection activities;(b) Visual observation, video and still photography and multi-spectral imaging, including infrared measurements, at and below thesurface, and from the air, to search for anomalies or artifacts;(c) Measurement of levels of radioactivity above, at and below the surface, using gamma radiation monitoring and energy resolutionanalysis from the air, and at or under the surface, to search for and identify radiation anomalies;(d) Environmental sampling and analysis of solids, liquids and gases from above, at and below the surface to detect anomalies;(e) Passive seismological monitoring for aftershocks to localize the search area and facilitate determination of the nature of an event;(f) Resonance seismometry and active seismic surveys to search for and locate underground anomalies, including cavities and rubblezones;(g) Magnetic and gravitational field mapping, ground penetrating radar and electrical conductivity measurements at the surface andfrom the air, as appropriate, to detect anomalies or artifacts; and(h) Drilling to obtain radioactive samples.
Some examples from the table of availability for OSI techniques
Active seismic: how to image deeper geologicalanomalies if the seismic sources that are needed forthat purpose (trucks, explosives) may not be ofpractical utility during an OSI?
The line spacingand altitudeneeded for themagnetic overflightin order to detectrelevant anomaliesmay require theuse of unmannedaerial vehicles
Gamma radiation monitoring: requires adjustment toblinding
TABLE OF AVAILABILITY OF EQUIPMENT AND METHODOLOGY FOR OSI TECHNIQUESThis table presents an analysis of present status of availability of equipment and methodology. The rightmost column (Availability and Complexity) summarizes availability of equipment &methodology (but does not refer to equipment being in custody of PTS or to finalization of relevant SOPs), as well as to the degree of complexity estimated to finalize a particular techniquefor its use in the framework of an OSI (L: low complexity; M: medium complexity; H: high complexity). It can be seen that only eight techniques out of this list (less than half) show YES foravailability and Low for complexity. One of these is the passive seismic method which, although showing YES/L, took approximately ten years to mature to the present status. On the otherextreme we find that five techniques show NO for availability with Medium or High for complexity, which means that there is still much effort to be invested in the development of OSItechniques.
The methodology for the seismic aftershockmonitoring system, using off the shelfequipment and having a low degree ofcomplexity in its development compared toother OSI techniques, took approximately tenyears to mature to the present status.
A concept of operations for environmental sampling has to bedeveloped in order to understand when this technique can be usedas a reconnaissance method (i.e. to obtain information about theinspection area) or as a hypothesis testing method (i.e. few samplescollected at identified locations within the inspection area).