Environmental Detection of Clandestine Nuclear Weapon Programs
Name
Environmental Detection of Clandestine Nuclear Weapon Programs - Final Manuscript (2).pdf
Size
312.44 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
5302f2b464d26acf424f860dee6b251e
Author(s)
Kemp, R. Scott
Date Issued
January 2016
Journal
Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Publisher
Annual Reviews
Citation
Kemp, R. Scott. "Environmental Detection of Clandestine Nuclear Weapon Programs." Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 44 (June 2016), pp.17-35.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
Environmental sensing of nuclear activities has the potential to detect nuclear weapon programs at early stages, deter nuclear proliferation, and help verify nuclear accords. However, no robust system of detection has been deployed to date. This can be variously attributed to high costs, technical limitations in detector technology, simple countermeasures, and uncertainty about the magnitude or behavior of potential signals. In this article, current capabilities and promising opportunities are reviewed. Systematic research in a variety of areas could improve prospects for detecting covert nuclear programs, although the potential for countermeasures suggests long-term verification of nuclear agreements will need to rely on methods other than environmental sensing.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-earth-060115-012526
