[H-CG22] Monitoring the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty: Status, operations, and scientific application

[HCG22-01] A brief introduction to the International Monitoring System hydroacoustic network and its civil and scientific applications

*Dirk Metz¹, Tiago A C Oliveira¹, Ata Can Corakci¹, Mario Zampolli¹ (1.CTBTO)

Keywords:CTBT, IMS, Hydroacoustics, Nuclear-test-ban monitoring

As part of the verification regime for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty of 1996, the objective of the International Monitoring System (IMS) is to detect nuclear explosions on land, in the atmosphere, and in the ocean. In addition to radionuclide, seismic, and infrasound monitoring stations, the IMS also includes eleven hydroacoustic receiver sites: Five land-based, high-frequency seismometers and six bottom-moored hydrophone triplet stations, the latter of which are typically deployed near remote ocean islands and at the depth of the Sound-Fixing-and-Ranging (SOFAR) channel where low-frequency acoustic energy propagates most efficiently.

While the primary role of IMS hydrophone data is nuclear test-ban monitoring, its potential extends to a wide array of civil and scientific applications. This presentation explores several examples of such uses, including the long-distance detection of submarine volcanic eruptions, earthquake studies, recordings of man-made sources such as underwater explosions or maritime accidents, and the long-term analysis of the global ocean soundscape itself. As part of the presentation, methods by which IMS data and data products can be made accessible to the broader scientific community will be discussed.