Teleseismic monitoring of underground nuclear explosions at the Nevada test site from Borovoye, Kazakhstan

Abstract

This paper outlines the results of three decades of teleseismic observations of US underground nuclear explosions from the Borovoye calibrated seismic station in Kazakhstan in the Commonwealth of Independent States. The Borovoye site is an extraordinary “sweet spot” to monitor tests. As a result, it has been possible to verify underground nuclear explosions at the Nevada Test Site in the United States through teleseismic data, starting even at the lowest yield of 2–5 kilo tons. In addition, if sufficient information from other seismic stations can be obtained to identify the geological medium of the explosion, measurements from Borovoye can be used to estimate the yield of US explosions to about 20 percent uncertainty—a remarkable precision.