[M-AG37] CTBT IMS Technologies for Detecting Nuclear Explosion and Their Applications to Earth Science

[MAG37-05] Hydroacoustic component of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty’s Monitoring System, core mission and applications

*Nurcan Meral Ozel¹, Mario Zampolli¹, Georgios Haralabus¹, Dirk Metz¹ (1.Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization)

Keywords:CTBTO, Nuclear monitoring, Hydroacoustic

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization’s (CTBTO) International Monitoring System (IMS) comprises 337 stations distributed around the world, recording data 24/7 and sending them in near-real time to the International Data Centre (IDC) in Vienna, where the data are processed to detect signs of nuclear tests. The four monitoring technologies in the IMS are: (i) seismology, (ii) hydroacoustics, (iii) infrasound, and (iv) radionuclide. The present state of completion of the IMS is about 90%, with the hydroacoustic network (6 stations with triplets of moored hydrophones suspended in the sound fixing and ranging (SOFAR) channel and 5 near-shore seismometer stations for T-phase detection) being the first technology to be completely certified as of 2017. In addition to Treaty verification, IMS raw data are available for civil applications and scientific studies. This presentation provides an overview of the IMS, including the first ever HA hydrophones detection of P-phases and T-phases from the underground nuclear test conducted by North Korea in September 2017. IMS hydroacoustic data continue to give rise to civil and scientific applications across a range of disciplines, including studies relevant to ocean thermometry, long-term monitoring of ocean noise and soundscapes, marine bioacoustics, submarine volcanism, and tsunamigenic events.