Monitoring the Earth’s Atmosphere with the Global IMS Infrasound Network

Abstract

The comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty organization (CTBTO) is tasked with monitoring compliance with the comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty (CTBT), which bans nuclear weapon explosions underground, in the oceans, and in the atmosphere. The verification regime includes a globally distributed network of seismic, hydroacoustic, infrasound, and radionuclide stations, which collect and transmit data to the International Data Centre (IDC) in Vienna, Austria, shortly after the data are recorded at each station. The infrasound network defined in the protocol of the CTBT comprises 60 infrasound array stations. Each array is built according to the same technical specifications; it is typically composed of 4–9 sensors, with 1–3 km aperture geometry. This constitutes the first global infrasound network ever built with such a large and uniform distribution of stations.