Work

Determination of the geographical coordinates of the aboveground nuclear tests epicenters

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: This paper presents the determination method of the exact geographical coordinates of aboveground nuclear tests (NT) epicenters based on the radioecological study results the example of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site. By testing the NT Epicenter software for determining the exact geographic coordinates of the NT centers, it was established that it is indeed possible to determine the exact coordinates of most of the aboveground NTs. Their locations are currently determined by the presence are currently determined by the presence of technogenic disturbance of the soil surface in the area of the alleged epicenter (the presence of a crater), as well as by comparing maps of radioactive contamination and a space image. The accuracy of the precise coordinates of the NT is highly dependent on the density of the auxiliary grid: the smaller the pitch of the auxiliary grid, the higher the accuracy of the NT epicenter.

Source: PLoS ONE

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0308920

Authors: Valeriy Monayenko, Pavel Krivitskiy, Mariya Abisheva, Sergey Lukashenko, Natalya Larionova

Institution: National Nuclear Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Language: English

Topic: Radioactive contamination and transfer

Subfield: Global and Planetary Change

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,290

Funder: Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan