The effects of 450 kg surface explosions at the E layer of the ionosphere. Los Alamos Source Region Project

Abstract

A network of hf ionospheric sounders consisting of two transmitter and two receiver stations was deployed to detect the effects of acoustic waves generated by surface ground motion following an underground nuclear test (UGT) at the Nevada Test Site. The frequency of the transmissions were chosen so that the hf radio waves were totally reflected in the E layer of the ionosphere at an altitude of approximately 100 km. The transmissions were highly stable cw tones at two frequencies separated by 100 kHz so that two altitudes separated by approximately .5 km could be sensed. The network sampled four geographic locations in the ionosphere ranging from almost directly overhead of the UGT out to a horizontal range of 60 km. The ionospheric sounders detected disturbances on all the paths beginning at approximately 325 s after the UGT which persisted for up to 100 s. These disturbances will be described in detail in a later paper. Shortly after the UGT an extended series of ionospheric disturbances were detected which we ascribe to the arrival of acoustic shock waves at the E layer caused by the surface detonation of ordinance with effective yields of 450 kg of high explosive during an unrelatedmore » exercise conducted by the U. S. Air Force at a nearby bombing range. The conjunction of these disturbances produced a direct comparison of the effects of UGT`s and surface explosions in the ionosphere. In this paper we describe the effects produced by the surface explosions and interpret the disturbance in terms of diffraction induced by electron density changes accompanying the passage of the acoustic waves from the explosions through the reflection altitudes.« less