North Korea Claims to have tested a Nuke...


 


I have been looking trough seismic data and I see no evidence yet, but here is the story:
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Monday it has performed its first-ever nuclear weapons test. The country's official Korean Central News Agency said the test was performed successfully and that there had been no radioactive leakage from the site.

"The nuclear test is a historic event that brought happiness to the our military and people," KCNA said. "The nuclear test will contribute to maintaining peace and stability in the Korean peninsula and surrounding region."

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun has convened a meeting of security advisers over the issue, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported, adding that intelligence over the test has been exchanged between concerned countries...

Update: I don't believe them at this point. Why? Because this is a seismogram from South Korea and there should be activity in the box I've drawn:



Does that mean for sure they didn't do it? No. But if they did, it was very small or the reported time is wrong.

FYI: The waves around 14:00 are set of earthquakes in the Tonga region.

Update II: I have looked at about 40 stations in the area. I am telling you, there is nothing there for the reported time. I cannot find anything to explain the wave you see on the above chart at about 1930. Maybe the reported time is wrong. You can see the same wave in this from Matsushiro, Japan:



Update III: Here is the first data I believe:


Notice the depth.

Interesting that other stations in the area are not showing it. Hmmmmm.

Update IV: Not a great wave but here is the first "evidence" I can see in a seismogram, from China:


(Note: That looks more like noise to me than an event, but the time fits.)

Update V: From Hot Air:
Update: Food for thought, via Bob Owens of Confederate Yankee and the Freepers: How would we know the difference between a nuke test and a detonation of several thousand tons of conventional explosives? The NorKs are claiming there’s been no leakage from the underground site so presumably there’s no radiation signature for us to detect. How many tons of explosives would it take to generate a 4.2 tremor? Is that even possible with regular ordnance?

I can answer some of their questions. Seismically there would be no difference between a small nuke and tons of conventional explosives. There is a difference in the waves produced by earthquakes and explosions and seismologists already know if it was indeed an explosion (see here). Other data will have to be gathered before it can be determined if it was conventional or nuclear. Even if "no" leakage is reported, there is almost always leakage and there are sensors that will record those changes. The fact is that we may never know for sure if it was a nuclear test, but based on the seismic size it probably was (Based only on the USGS report.).

Update Vi: Forget the Foley mess. I question the timing of this and blame Rove!!

;- )

Update VII (10/9/06): More updates above.

Posted: Sunday - October 08, 2006 at 20:21          

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