Amplitudes and energies of primary seismic waves near the hardhat, haymaker, and shoal nuclear explosions

Abstract

Records of near-source (0.3 to 20 km) primary seismic waves generated by the Hardhat, Haymaker, and Shoal underground nuclear explosions were analyzed in terms of displacement amplitude and energy variations with distance. The observed data were compared to similar data from a theoretical source model to determine the adequacy of the theoretical model. There was evidence that a long-period displacement field existed near the explosions as predicted by the theoretical source. Scatter in the observed amplitude data made it difficult to distinguish between the long-period and the radiation fields. However, the variation of total energy of the observed primary seismic waves with distance showed the presence of the long-period field. The comparison of observed and theoretical data indicates that a theoretical elastic source model approximated the observed sources.