By Jessica Hill
Homeland Defense & Security Information Analysis Center
Determining the characteristics of above-ground explosions could be instrumental in the military gaining a better understanding of the exact cause of a blast. Historically, researchers have used seismic monitors to gather information about earthquakes and other below-ground natural and manmade events, but a pair of researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have developed a method for determining the characteristics of near and above-ground explosions using the same seismic technology.
High-speed photographs of a controlled surface explosion at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, similar to the explosions at White Sands Missile Range were used in a study of seismic signals to detect above-ground explosions. (Photo: Defense Threat Reduction Agency Counter-WMD Test Support Division/Released)
In a project funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Michael Pasyanos and Sean Ford were able to show that the explosion of an above-ground tunnel bomb planted by Syrian rebels was smaller than sources claimed. The blast under the Wadi al-Deif Army Base in Syria was originally said to be 60 tons, but the scientists proved the explosion was likely closer to 40 tons.
The team used data from regional seismic stations in Turkey, as well as video footage, to study the Syrian explosion. The equivalent to 100 tons of TNT would be needed produce the seismic signal found in the Syrian blast if it occurred well above the Earth’s surface.
“We estimate a chemical yield ranging from 6 and 50 tons depending on the depth, with the best estimate between 20-40 tons,” Pasyanos said in a press release. “Including independent information on the depth, we could narrow this considerably. If, for instance, we definitively knew that the explosion occurred at 2 meters below the surface, then we would estimate the yield at 40 tons.”
The team tested their method using shallow explosions in New Mexico where the yields and depths of the explosions were known. The method characterizes underground explosions based on regional amplitude envelopes across a broad range of frequencies.
Seismology is an integral part of nuclear explosion monitoring and has been used to show the yield and depth of underground explosions. This new technique can be used by governmental agencies to understand the exact cause of an explosion. “By allowing the methodology to consider shallow, uncontained events just below, at, or even above the Earth’s surface, we make the method relevant to new classes of events including mining events, military explosions, industrial accidents, plane crashes or potential terrorist attacks,” Pasyanos said.
New technologies to detect or mitigate explosive devices are imperative to homeland security as terrorist attacks using explosive materials are a clear threat to public safety and national security. Understanding the characteristics of an explosion will assist the military in preparing for and preventing future attacks and in gaining knowledge of weapons used by adversaries. In addition, research into above-ground explosions has the potential to enhance the nation’s counter-improvised explosive device (IED) capabilities.
Story and information provided by the Homeland Defense & Security Information Analysis Center
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Disclaimer: Re-published content may have been edited for length and clarity. The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense. For other than authorized activities, such as, military exchanges and Morale, Welfare and Recreation sites, the Department of Defense does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this DoD website.
from Armed with Science http://ift.tt/1T0G62o
By Jessica Hill
Homeland Defense & Security Information Analysis Center
Determining the characteristics of above-ground explosions could be instrumental in the military gaining a better understanding of the exact cause of a blast. Historically, researchers have used seismic monitors to gather information about earthquakes and other below-ground natural and manmade events, but a pair of researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have developed a method for determining the characteristics of near and above-ground explosions using the same seismic technology.
High-speed photographs of a controlled surface explosion at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, similar to the explosions at White Sands Missile Range were used in a study of seismic signals to detect above-ground explosions. (Photo: Defense Threat Reduction Agency Counter-WMD Test Support Division/Released)
In a project funded by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Michael Pasyanos and Sean Ford were able to show that the explosion of an above-ground tunnel bomb planted by Syrian rebels was smaller than sources claimed. The blast under the Wadi al-Deif Army Base in Syria was originally said to be 60 tons, but the scientists proved the explosion was likely closer to 40 tons.
The team used data from regional seismic stations in Turkey, as well as video footage, to study the Syrian explosion. The equivalent to 100 tons of TNT would be needed produce the seismic signal found in the Syrian blast if it occurred well above the Earth’s surface.
“We estimate a chemical yield ranging from 6 and 50 tons depending on the depth, with the best estimate between 20-40 tons,” Pasyanos said in a press release. “Including independent information on the depth, we could narrow this considerably. If, for instance, we definitively knew that the explosion occurred at 2 meters below the surface, then we would estimate the yield at 40 tons.”
The team tested their method using shallow explosions in New Mexico where the yields and depths of the explosions were known. The method characterizes underground explosions based on regional amplitude envelopes across a broad range of frequencies.
Seismology is an integral part of nuclear explosion monitoring and has been used to show the yield and depth of underground explosions. This new technique can be used by governmental agencies to understand the exact cause of an explosion. “By allowing the methodology to consider shallow, uncontained events just below, at, or even above the Earth’s surface, we make the method relevant to new classes of events including mining events, military explosions, industrial accidents, plane crashes or potential terrorist attacks,” Pasyanos said.
New technologies to detect or mitigate explosive devices are imperative to homeland security as terrorist attacks using explosive materials are a clear threat to public safety and national security. Understanding the characteristics of an explosion will assist the military in preparing for and preventing future attacks and in gaining knowledge of weapons used by adversaries. In addition, research into above-ground explosions has the potential to enhance the nation’s counter-improvised explosive device (IED) capabilities.
Story and information provided by the Homeland Defense & Security Information Analysis Center
Follow Armed with Science on Facebook and Twitter!
———-
Disclaimer: Re-published content may have been edited for length and clarity. The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense. For other than authorized activities, such as, military exchanges and Morale, Welfare and Recreation sites, the Department of Defense does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this DoD website.
from Armed with Science http://ift.tt/1T0G62o
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