Monitoring for nuclear explosions

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty bans all nuclear test explosions, whether for military or civilian purposes. The International Monitoring System is a global network hosted by 89 countries and Antarctica. It uses four types of verification: seismic (underground shock waves), hydroacoustic (underwater sound waves), infrasound (atmospheric sound waves) and radionuclide (radioactive particles or gases) to monitor for nuclear explosions.

There are seven monitoring stations in Antarctica. New Zealand has six monitoring stations and a radionuclide lab.

Professor Dave Prior is with the University of Otago Department of Geology. Dave tells us about the infrastructure near a research site at Windless Bight. Nearby is one of the nuclear monitoring stations.

Questions for discussion

• Why is the route between Scott Base and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) site clearly marked on the map?

• If nuclear test explosions are banned, why do we need monitoring stations around the globe?

Transcript

Professor Dave Prior

This road is maintained because over that way a few kilometres is a thing called the CTBT. And it’s basically, it’s a bunch of sound listening devices, which is part of an international programme to monitor whether people are letting off nuclear explosions or not. So there’s sites all around the world, which do that – and this is one.

Acknowledgements

Professor Dave Prior, University of Otago Satellite station, CTBTO. CC BY 2.0
Footage courtesy of Carol Brieseman and Dianne Christenson
Carol Brieseman and Dianne Christenson visited Antarctica with support from the Antarctica New Zealand Community Engagement Programme