North Korea’s last nuclear test triggered an earthquake. Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters
Science News: Satellite data backs theory of North Korean nuclear site collapse
Whether underground cave-ins have made the facility unusable is unknown
A new analysis of satellite images and seismic waves from North Korea’s nuclear test site support theories that the underground facility has at least partially collapsed.
Seismologists across the world have been tracking the clandestine nuclear weapons program for years by analyzing vibrations that emanate from explosions at the test site under Mount Mantap (SN: 8/5/17, p. 18). Now, researchers have paired 3-D satellite images of Mount Mantap with seismic tremor data to simulate how the mountain’s interior might have changed after a hydrogen bomb test on September 3, 2017.
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WNU Editor: This news was first reported over a month ago .... but the details are continuing to come out. On a side note .... I asked someone I know who was an engineer that prepared nuclear test sites for the U.S. when he worked for the US Department of Energy if the U.S. ever had an event that mirrors what the North Koreans went through on their test last year. The answer is yes .... there were many times that the yield of an explosion was underestimated .... but that was always factored in, and they made sure that the mine was deep enough to compensate for such a collapse. But even he admitted that the problem was that sometimes the sandbags that were used to plug the mine had a tendency to pop out like a champagne cork. Wow! I do not know if this is true .... but it must have been a quite sight to see it if it did happen.
More News On Reports That Damage To North Korea’s Nuclear Test Site Was Worse Than Previously Disclosed
Satellite Analysis Shows North Korea’s 2017 Nuclear Test Literally Moved a Mountain -- Gizmodo
Something's going on at North Korea's nuclear test site. Maybe it really is closing. -- Washington Post
Damage to North Korea’s Nuclear Test Site Worse Than Previously Thought -- WSJ
After North Korea detonated a nuclear bomb inside a mountain, scientists watched it move -- Mashable