Abstract
The understanding of subsurface events that cannot be directly observed is dependent on the ability to relate surface-based observations to subsurface processes. This is particularly important for nuclear explosion monitoring, as any future clandestine tests will likely be underground. We collected ground-based lidar and optical imagery using remote, very-low-altitude unmanned aerial system platforms, before and after several underground high explosive experiments. For the lidar collections, we used a terrestrial lidar scanner to obtain high-resolution point clouds and create digital elevation models (DEMs). For the imagery collections, we used structure-from-motion photogrammetry techniques and a dense grid of surveyed ground control points to create high-resolution DEMs. Comparisons between the pre- and post-experiment DEMs indicate changes in surface topography that vary between explosive experiments with varying yield and depth parameters. Our work shows that the relationship between explosive yield and the extent of observable surface change differs from the standard scaled-depth-of-burial model. This suggests that the surface morphological change from underground high explosive experiments can help constrain the experiments' yield and depth, and may impact how such activities are monitored and verified.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 111871 |
| Journal | Remote Sensing of Environment |
| Volume | 246 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 1 2020 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
The Source Physics Experiments (SPE) would not have been possible without the support of many people from several organizations. The authors thank NNSA, the Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development (DNN R&D), and the SPE working group, a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary group of scientists and engineers. Thanks to the staff of Optira, Inc. for TLS acquisitions for SPE-2, SPE-3, and SPE-4prime. The skill, dedication, and professionalism of our field UAS pilots (M Grimler and D Cornely [now retired] of Los Alamos National Laboratory) ensured safe and successful airborne operations and data collections during SPE-5 and SPE-6. Los Alamos National Laboratory, an affirmative-action/equal opportunity employer, is operated by Triad National Security, LLC for the National Nuclear Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy under contract 89233218CNA000001. Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-mission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC. a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc. for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525. This manuscript has been co-authored by Mission Support and Test Services, LLC, under Contract No. DE-NA003624 with the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The U.S. Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan). The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of Energy or the United States Government. This document is unclassified and has been approved for unlimited release (LA-UR-19-28786; DOE/NV/03624—0765; SAND2020-4478 J). The Source Physics Experiments (SPE) would not have been possible without the support of many people from several organizations. The authors thank NNSA, the Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation Research and Development (DNN R&D), and the SPE working group, a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary group of scientists and engineers. Thanks to the staff of Optira, Inc. for TLS acquisitions for SPE-2, SPE-3, and SPE-4prime. The skill, dedication, and professionalism of our field UAS pilots (M Grimler and D Cornely [now retired] of Los Alamos National Laboratory) ensured safe and successful airborne operations and data collections during SPE-5 and SPE-6. Los Alamos National Laboratory, an affirmative-action/equal opportunity employer, is operated by Triad National Security, LLC for the National Nuclear Security Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy under contract 89233218CNA000001 . Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-mission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525. This manuscript has been co-authored by Mission Support and Test Services, LLC, under Contract No. DE-NA003624 with the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The U.S. Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan ). The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of Energy or the United States Government. This document is unclassified and has been approved for unlimited release (LA-UR-19-28786; DOE/NV/03624—0765; SAND2020-4478 J).
Keywords
- Change detection
- Lidar
- Nuclear explosion monitoring
- Photogrammetry
- Structure-from-motion
- Underground explosions
- Unmanned aerial systems