N Korea nuke test detected at NZ school
The latest nuclear test in North Korea captured the attention of the world — and Kristin School’s $ 477 seismometer.
Nerves were rattled across the globe when it was revealed the dictatorship had conducted its sixth atomic test since 2006, the test’s power generating a magnitude 6.3 earthquake.
Almost 10,000km away, the exclusive Auckland school’s TC1 seismometer detected the shock wave.
Executive principal Tim Oughton couldn’t be contacted, but the Albany school’s latest newsletter shared news of the detection.
“During the relative quiet of a weekend without noise from students and staff, the seismometer detected a large seismic event.
“Mr Muller and Mr Campbell have been verifying the source and can now confirm that this i s the shock wave from the latest North Korean nuclear test.”
Unlike earthquakes, nuclear tests have a unique seismic signature with no foreshocks or aftershocks, according to the newsletter.
“The seismic activity detected at the Kristin station shows light shaking for approximately 10 minutes, as the waves were attenuated and refracted as they travelled nearly 10,000km through the Earth.”
GNS duty seismologist Caroline Holden said their stations also detected the shock wave from the blast.
A quake anywhere in the world measuring over 5.5 magnitude was able to be detected by their stations and it would be clear the recordings were not the result of a natural event.
“[ An] explosion has a very different seismic signature. A quake has a lot of shear waves, an explosion has more compression waves.”
University of Auckland geophysicist Kasper van Wijk said the universit y provided the seismometer to Kristin and 30 to 40 other New Zealand schools as part of an outreach project. Some were gifted, while others — such as Kristin’s — were paid for by the school.
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