Discrimination between nuclear explosions and earthquakes based on consideration of tectonic ambient shear stress values

IntroductionFor the need of a nuclear test ban treaty, international society must make great efforts to find effective methods for discrimination between earthquake and nuclear explosion. Thereupon, many methods of discrimination of nuclear explosion appeared. But, at present, there is some uncertainty to discriminate middle or small nuclear explosion (Peppin, McEvilly, 1974; Richards, Zarales, 1990). When we study tectonic ambient shear stress field of Southern California, we find that str…

Discrimination between nuclear explosions and earthquakes based on consideration of tectonic ambient shear stress values

On the basis of fracture mechanics earthquake rupture model, the relations between source parameters and (0, the value of tectonic ambient shear stress in the place where the earthquake occurs, have been derived. Thus, we can calculate a large number of values of tectonic ambient shear stress or values of background stress in the place where the earthquake occurs. If nuclear explosions are treated as earthquakes in the calculation, we find that (0 values of nuclear explosions have about 20 MPa, which is obviously higher than average (0 values of earthquakes with the same magnitude. This result can be used to discriminate nuclear explosions from earthquakes.