An analysis of seismic and acoustic signals measured from a series of atmospheric and near-surface explosions

Abstract

Abstract During December 1985, Soviet scientists monitored a series of high-explosive tests at a bombing range near Kustanai, Kazakhstan, in which both seismic and acoustic data were recorded at distances of 6, 9.5, and 21 km from bomb blasts at different altitudes. These data show a remarkable variety of seismo/acoustic phenomena associated with energy conversion processes at the Earth's surface, including air-coupled Rayleigh waves and acoustic signals produced by propagating seismic disturbances having phase velocities near the speed of sound in air. These data provide valuable new insights into the mechanisms responsible for the generation of seismic and acoustic signals by atmospheric and near-surface explosions. In particular, theoretical simulation results are presented that are shown to account for most of the features of the observed data, and, therefore, it is concluded that the simplified theoretical models employed in these simulations can provide a quantitative basis for assessing the effects of source and site conditions on the characteristics of the signals produced by such explosions.