Monitoring Nuclear Tests

Abstract

In May 1998, the prototype monitoring systems for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) provided effective and timely reporting on the Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests. More detailed analysis of a broad range of imagery and seismic data illustrates evolving capabilities for refining the test site locations and estimating the yields and number of explosions. The results demonstrate that there will be sufficient scientific and technical capabilities to perform global treaty monitoring to very low thresholds once the CTBT monitoring network is fully deployed.