Weapons Testing Research Articles

Nuclear powers’ reaction to the US development and testing of thermonuclear weapons in the early 1950s.

The article examines US, Soviet and British reaction to the development and testing of American thermonuclear weapons. Based on the analysis of published documents and the press of the three countries, archival materials, debates in the British Parliament and the American Congress, the authors assess the perception of how the emergence of new super-powerful weapons influenced the state of international relations, Soviet-American confrontation, and the position of Great Britain. The development of thermonuclear weapons, which became a new factor in the emerging bipolar system of international relations, was largely the result of an irreconcilable conflict between the superpowers. The risk of universal destruction associated with the advent of "superbomb" did not stop the arms race, but the emerging trend to achieve relative parity in the nuclear sphere gradually turned into a guarantee of stability, based on the fear of retaliation. However, at the dawn of the nuclear era, thermonuclear tests seemed to increase the degree of unpredictability on the world stage, raising questions not only about how new developments would affect the balance of power and strategies of the leading powers, but also whether thermonuclear explosions could be properly controlled, what their consequences would be and how serious the dangers of radiation contamination could be. That is why the hydrogen bomb tests prompted both statesmen and the public to address the issue of nuclear arms control. However, the high degree of conflict and uncertainty, and most importantly, the perception of power as the basis of the position held by a state in the system of international relations led to the fact that issues of arms control receded into the background before the imperatives of the arms race.

Radionuclides in marine sediment

Abstract Most contaminants in the sea originate from land sources. Radionuclides in sea water are transported by sea currents. Marine sediment is a physical trap for pollutants that are introduced to the environment and play an important role in radiological studies. Radionuclides from seawater bound to particulates sink to the seabed. Their resuspension causes the reintroduction of pollutants to the water column. Remobilization and horizontal/vertical transport by various processes may occur. Long-lived radionuclides become buried in sub-surface sediment. Grain size sediment classification and sediment geochemical composition all play a significant role in the development of the radionuclide content of marine sediment. Atmospheric fallout from the Chernobyl and the Fukushima accidents, atmospheric nuclear weapon testing, releases from nuclear industry plants, river runoff, and to a lesser extent directed and submarine groundwater discharges are the major sources of radionuclides in the marine environment.

Ensuring National Security under Martial Law Conditions: Legal Regulation, Threats, Cooperation and Directions for Improvement

The purpose of the article is to reveal the legal regulation of ensuring national security in the conditions of martial law (threats, cooperation and directions for improvement). It has been established that ensuring national security of Ukraine includes a complex of national and international measures. It has been emphasized that financing is one of the important problems in the system of ensuring national security. The financial security of a state as a component of its national security is the basis of the economic development of the country, which ensures sovereignty and integrity of the country, as well as a decent standard of living of its citizens. The financial security of a state as a component of its national security is the basis of the economic development of the country, which ensures sovereignty and integrity of the country, as well as a decent standard of living of its citizens. Another problem of ensuring national security in wartime conditions consists in preventing and combating corruption. Corruption destroys development of the military-industrial complex, prevents introduction of innovative means of protection for military personnel, it disturbs development and testing of new weapons, new technologies, and hampers provision of military personnel with the necessary equipment, protection and weapons. It was concluded that only cooperation can solve the urgent strategic tasks of ensuring national security in difficult world conditions and new globalization challenges.

The imagined island: Colonialism and constructed remoteness on Diego Garcia

AbstractColonial powers have long used islands and island forms for imperial projects, including military bases, weapons testing, resource mining and migrant detention. In order to pursue these interests, colonial powers have often sought geographically remote sites, but they further rely on the construction of remoteness. This article reflects on the colonial construction of remoteness by analysing the case study of Diego Garcia. The militarised atoll of Diego Garcia is one in a chain of islands that make up the British Indian Ocean Territory, the last colony created by the British government. While Diego Garcia is now under British sovereign control, the island was brutally cleared of its Indigenous inhabitants to make way for a joint British‐American military base. By detailing the ways in which ‘remoteness’ has affected the Indigenous Chagossians, ‘war on terror’ detainees, asylum‐seekers and migrant workers, this article demonstrates how colonial powers deploy remoteness as a way of distancing groups deemed ‘other’ from rights. Additionally, colonial powers use ‘remoteness’ to paradoxically protect their own proximity to colonial interests, including geopolitically significant sites for military installations.

Anthropogenic Impacts in the Lower Stratosphere: Scale Invariant Analysis

Aircraft and rockets entered the lower stratosphere on a regular basis during World War II and have done so in increasing numbers to the present. Atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons saw radioactive isotopes in the stratosphere. Rocket launches of orbiters are projected to increase substantially in the near future. The burnup of orbiters has left signatures in the aerosol. There are proposals to attenuate incoming solar radiation by deliberate injection of artificial aerosols into the stratosphere to “geoengineer” cooling trends in surface temperature, with the aim of countering the heating effects of infrared active gases. These gases are mainly carbon dioxide from fossil burning, with additional contributions from methane, chlorofluorocarbons, nitrous oxide and the accompanying positive feedback from increasing water vapor. Residence times as a function of altitude above the tropopause are critical. The analysis of in situ data is performed using statistical multifractal techniques and combined with remotely sensed and modeled results to examine the classical radiation–photochemistry–fluid mechanics interaction that determines the composition and dynamics of the lower stratosphere. It is critical in assessing anthropogenic effects. It is argued that progress in predictive ability is driven by the continued generation of new and quantitative observations in the laboratory and the atmosphere.

Quantitative estimation of dust transport in the desert region of northwest China by plutonium isotopes

Dust is an important source of atmospheric pollution, and quantitative estimation of desert dust transport is crucial for air pollution control. In this study, five typical sandy soil profiles in the Tengger Desert were collected and analyzed for 239,240Pu concentration and 240Pu/239Pu atomic ratios in order to identify the source of 239,240Pu in this area and explore the sedimentary characteristics of dust in different profiles. The results revealed that the concentrations of 239,240Pu in the soil profiles were between 0.002 and 0.443 mBq/g with an exception of the deep layer soil at one site. The measured atomic ratios of 240Pu/239Pu are at the global atmospheric fallout level with a mean of 0.184 ± 0.020, indicating that global fallout is the dominant source of plutonium in this region. The total inventories of 239,240Pu in the reference sites in this area were estimated to be 39.2–44.6 Bq/m2, this is in agreement with the value from the global fallout of atmospheric nuclear weapon tests at the similar latitude (30–40 °N: 42 Bq/m2). The estimated erosion rate in the erosion profile utilizing soil erosion intensity mode is 2491 t/km2/yr and the soil erosion depth is 9.86 cm, While, the stacking rate of the accumulation profile is 1383 t/km2/yr, and the depth of accumulation is estimated to be 5.48 cm. The difference between the erosion and accumulation profiles indicated that approximately 1107 t/km2/yr of dust was exported from the Gobi landform area of the Tengger Desert, which might be transported long distance in the downwind direction.

Environmental impacts of underground nuclear weapons testing

ABSTRACT Each nuclear weapon test contributes to a global burden of released radioactivity. Between 1945 and 1996, more than 2,000 nuclear tests were conducted, three-quarters of which were underground. Underground nuclear tests involved placing the nuclear device in a cavity drilled or excavated beneath the surface. The goal was to contain the explosion and its effects to the immediate vicinity of the detonation point, ultimately minimizing the release of radioactive materials into the atmosphere. While these tests successfully curtailed the atmospheric release and radioactive fallout, they created dynamic responses within crustal formations caused by local shock waves from the explosion. This paper discusses the legacy of underground nuclear testing, addressing issues from containment failure to the phenomenological effects after underground detonations and the pathways of subsequent dispersal of radionuclides to the environment.

The horrors of nuclear weapons testing

ABSTRACT The closer you are to nuclear weapons, the more you are aware of their dangers. People today seem to have forgotten—if they ever knew—what a single nuclear weapon can do. Which, if nothing else, is something that atmospheric testing can accomplish: Remind everyone of what’s at stake. The inhabitants of the Marshall Islands, whose home was turned into a nuclear proving ground, have certainly never forgotten. Nor has the crew of a Japanese fishing vessel that strayed too close to the nuclear weapon test known as Bravo.

Half-century trends of radioactivity in fish from Danish areas of the North Sea, Kattegat, and Baltic Sea

This work reports comprehensive time-series datasets over the past 50 years for natural (210Po) and anthropogenic (134Cs and 137Cs) radionuclides in three fish species (cod, herring and plaice) from Danish marine areas covering the North Sea, Kattegat, and Baltic Sea. Impact from the global fallout of atmospheric nuclear weapons testing, radioactive discharges from the European nuclear reprocessing plants and release from Chernobyl accident are clearly detected in the fish samples. While 210Po concentrations in each fish species demonstrated comparable levels across the three regions without notable temporal trends, significantly higher median 210Po concentration was observed in the lower trophic level fish, namely herring and plaice, compared to cod. In contrast, 137Cs concentrations in all three species steadily decrease over time after the Chernobyl-attributed peaks in late 1980s in the entire study area, whereas 137Cs always demonstrated higher concentrations in cod than herring and plaice. Our calculated concentration factors (CFs) for 137Cs in this work indicate that the mean CFs for 137Cs over the past 50 years are significantly different across the three species, following the order of cod < herring < plaice. Based on the time-series data, ecological half-lives (Teco) of 137Cs in fish from Danish marine areas were estimated to evaluate the long-term impact of anthropogenic radioactive contamination in different regions. Our results indicate no significant difference in Teco across different fish species, whereas the weighted mean Teco for fish in the Baltic Sea (29.3 ± 3.9 y) is significantly longer than those of the North Sea (9.8 ± 0.9 y) and Kattegat (11.7 ± 1.2 y), reflecting the strong ‘memory effect’ of the Baltic Sea due to its slow water renewal. However, the dose assessment demonstrates that the contribution of the natural radionuclide 210Po to ingestion dose from fish consumption is 1–2 order of magnitude higher compared to that of 137Cs.

‘We will not Relax our Efforts’: The Anti-Nuclear Stance of Civil Society and Government in Post-Independence Fiji

ABSTRACT In the years immediately following independence, Fiji took advantage of its position as the first Pacific Island country in the United Nations to highlight the harms of French nuclear testing. Building on the outspoken efforts of Fijian civil society that reflected deep concerns in the region, the government of Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara took on an increasingly activist role in the international arena around the testing of nuclear weapons in the Pacific. Fiji’s advocacy over this time represented an important moment in Pacific Way politics, tying nuclear resistance to self-determination struggles. Anti-nuclear sentiment at both a community and political level positioned Pacific agency and perspectives in this global discourse. Revisiting the speeches and diplomatic efforts of the Fijian government alongside the advocacy and activities of the ATOM group offers lessons on the importance of collaborative politics in the face of transboundary harms and regional challenges.

К истории биологического оружия

Towards the history of biological weapons The article provides a brief overview of the basic information on the history of the development, production, testing and use of biological weapons in different countries. The general characteristics of biological weapons are given, the main goals, objectives and methods of their use are considered. The specifi c fact s o f th e use of combat strains of natural and modified microorganisms, natural toxins for military purposes, as well as the facts of the leakage of biological weapons from military microbiological laboratories and industrial facilities engaged in the production of biological weapons, with the defeat of the civilian population, are given.

Влияние Индии на формирование многополярного ядерного порядка

India’s decision not to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty has led to its labelling as a state that is not fully aligned with the global nuclear order. This places it in the same category as other nuclear-armed countries outside these agreements, such as Israel, North Korea, and Pakistan. India’s nuclear weapons testing in 1998, followed by a similar move by Pakistan, has been viewed as a challenge to international security and the nuclear non-proliferation regime. This article aims to examine India’s stance on these treaties and its choice to become a nuclear-armed state in 1998 within the context of its efforts to influence the establishment of a fair global order that serves the interests of not only the major nuclear powers (USSR/Russia, Great Britain, China, the United States, and France) and their allies, but also the rest of the world. Delhi’s actions in the realm of nuclear arms control highlights the emerging multipolar world. Although India has refrained from actively participating in disarmament negotiations after the end of Cold War, its previous experiences remain relevant today. The breakdown of the U.S. – Russia nuclear arms control as well as crises over the nuclear non-proliferation and testing banning regimes have given weight to the arguments put forth by Indian leaders and diplomats. These arguments emphasize the urgency of reducing nuclear risks and exercising strategic restraint, including maintaining a moratorium on nuclear testing. Since 1998, India has adopted an approach different from its previous policy on various nuclear disarmament issues. This shift is evident in the country’s solidarity with other nuclear powers in opposing the 2021 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. However, India’s longstanding support for multipolarity in international security policy, particularly regarding nuclear weapons, remains unchanged.

Direct numerical simulations of long-range infrasound propagation: Implications for source spectra estimation.

The evolution of observed dominant frequencies from a high-intensity infrasonic pulse with receiver range and stratospheric temperature is investigated using direct numerical simulations of the two-dimensional unsteady compressible Navier-Stokes equations. There is a high level of uncertainty in estimating source dominant frequencies based on received signals at sparse points on the ground. Nonlinear propagation effects in the ground-level thermospheric arrivals are found to significantly alter dominant frequency measurements compared to stratospheric arrivals with smaller amplitude sources. With a larger amplitude source, variations in observations are minimized as a result of nonlinear effects being ubiquitous across all atmospheric components of received signals but have a greater offset to the source dominant frequency. An approach to determine the source dominant frequency and minimize atmospheric variability is presented by calculating a source-to-receiver spectral transfer function averaged across the atmospheric states. This method reduces atmospheric variability in source frequency estimates within the pseudo-linear propagation regime and the average error to the known source frequency with a large amplitude source. The reduction of errors in source frequency estimates demonstrates the feasibility of using remote infrasound measurements as an indicator of source frequency and, in turn, the explosive yield of clandestine nuclear weapon test explosions.

Were the Superheavy Elements made in Space?

A question for decades has been the potential production of heavy or superheavy elements in nature. Once the nuclear weapons tests showed that elements heavier than the Uranium were found in the debris, it was clear that a rapid neutron capture process followed by beta decay was creating heavier elements. The next question was the location of the r-process end? What other heavy elements are made? Did nature make the superheavy elements via the r-process too? The answer is yet to be found. There are many indications that it probably did but the definitive evidence is yet to surface. The laboratory experiments with neutron rich beams and neutron rich targets via cold and hot fusion reactions have created a number of new isotopes in addition to the elements that have completed the periodic table. Furthermore, the new superheavy element factory at the JINR in Dubna has now allowed the identification of over one hundred decay chains of the various isotopes of superheavy elements connecting to the main part of the chart of nuclides via decays. This is where we should look for the definitive evidence for the production of the superheavy elements in nature.

Anti-satellite weapon tests to disrupt large satellite constellations

Anti-satellite weapon tests to disrupt large satellite constellations

DEVELOPMENT OF GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR TRACKED AND WHEELED EQUIPMENT NOISE DETERMINATION DEVICE

In the work, an analysis of the existing requirements for the noise of wheeled and tracked machinery, an analysis of existing methods of noise assessment, an analysis of existing requirements for noise detection devices, and also the general requirements for a device for determining the noise of tracked and wheeled vehicles, used during tests by developers (manufacturers) of defense goods in Ukraine. The purpose of the article is to improve the laboratory-testing base of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (hereinafter referred to as the Armed Forces of Ukraine) by equipping it with modern test equipment, which will allow obtaining quantitative values of characteristics (parameters) that are subject to evaluation during tests of weapons and military equipment (hereinafter referred to as OMT) and their components The method of conducting research is the theory of system analysis, synthesis of organizational and technical systems, comparison, generalization. The characteristics of the specified device and configuration options are considered. The main parameters for assessing the noise level of automotive and armored vehicles, which are subject to registration (measurement), have been determined. Methods of noise level assessment are considered. The results of the work can be used when choosing a noise meter to solve the tasks of testing, to determine the acoustic visibility of OVT and to meet the requirements of environmental protection.&#x0D; The practical significance of the obtained results lies in the provision of tests, in particular, of military equipment on tracked or wheeled chassis.

Nuclear Testing in French Polynesia: After Fifty Years of Lies and State Secrets How to Calm Our Anger and Rebuild Ourselves

The essay discusses, from an Indigenous perspective, the French nuclear weapon tests in the southern Pacific islands. It presents a vivid scenario of the detrimental effects and social inequalities produced by the dynamic of ‘industrialization without industry’ brought about by militarisation and extraction.

The Rise and Fall of Radioactive Carbon in the Atmosphere

The level of radioactive carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has shifted dramatically since the middle of the twentieth century. At that time, nuclear weapons tests resulted in considerably raised levels of the radioactive molecule. The impact peaked in the early 1960s and, since then, the radioactive level has come back almost to where it was before the nuclear test period. The ambition here is to discuss the character of the carbon dioxide curve in its different phases with an emphasis on what has happened after the atmospheric tests stopped. The curve’s behaviour seems to raise an interesting question for climate change theory.

Examining the potential for detecting simultaneous noble gas and aerosol samples in the international monitoring system radionuclide network

The purpose of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is to establish a legally binding ban on nuclear weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosions. The Preparatory Commission for the CTBT Organization (CTBTO PrepCom) is developing the International Monitoring System (IMS) that includes a global network of 80 stations to monitor for airborne radionuclides upon entry into force of the CTBT. All 80 radionuclide stations will monitor for particulate radionuclides and at least half of the stations will monitor for radioxenon. The airborne radionuclide monitoring is an important verification technology both for the detection of a radionuclide release and in the determination of whether the release event originates from a nuclear explosion as opposed to an industrial use of nuclear materials.Nuclear power plants and many medical isotope production facilities release radioxenon into the atmosphere. Low levels of a few particulate isotopes, such as iodine, may also be released. Detections of multiple isotopes are useful for screening the radionuclide samples for relevance to the Treaty. This paper examines the anticipated joint detections in the IMS of noble gas and particulate isotopes from underground nuclear explosions where breaches in the underground containment vents from low levels to up to 1% of the radionuclide inventory of the resulting fission products to the atmosphere. Detection probabilities are based on 844 simulated release events spaced out at 17 release locations and one year in time. Six different release (venting) scenarios, including two fractionated scenarios, were analyzed.When ranked by detection probability, 11 particulate isotopes and one noble gas isotope (133Xe) appear in the top 20 isotopes for all six release scenarios. Using the 11 particulate isotopes and the one noble gas isotope, the IMS has nearly the same detection probability as when 45 particulate and 4 noble gas isotopes are used. Thus, a limited list of relevant radionuclides may be sufficient for treaty verification purposes. The probability that at least one particulate and at least one radioxenon isotope would be detected in the IMS from the release events ranged from 0.15 to 0.86 depending on the release scenario.

APPROACHES TO INCREASE THE EFFICIENCY OF TRAINING AND TESTING BY CREATING A UNIFORM INFORMATION AND REFERENCE SYSTEM AND AUTOMATING THE ACTIVITIES OF THE INSTITUTE’S SCIENTISTS

The article is devoted to ways of solving certain problematic aspects of the preparation and conducting of tests, caused by the lack of a centralized approach to the creation, replenishment and access of scientists of the institute to the regulatory and legal framework and other materials necessary for the development of organizational and methodical documents for conducting tests. This causes long-term, not always high-quality preparation and testing of weapons, military, special equipment, ammunition, software and other types of experimental samples.&#x0D; The authors of the article outline approaches to increase the efficiency, automation, and quality of preparation and testing. For this purpose, it is proposed to create a single information and reference system at the institute, built on the basis of global (cloud environment) and local (local computer network) data exchange systems.&#x0D; The proposed approaches provide for the implementation of advanced information technologies that ensure the accumulation, search, access and use by scientists of the State Research Institute of Testing and Certification of Weapons and Military Equipment of the necessary regulatory and legal acts, organizational and methodological documents, reporting materials and other reference data at the stages preparation and testing of weapons, military, special equipment, ammunition, software and other types of prototypes.&#x0D; The introduction of the proposed approaches will reduce the cost of human resources for the preparation for the tests, will ensure the improvement of the quality of working out the organizational and methodical documents, which will ensure the proper conduct of the tests by the test team.