Rebecca Johnson is an independent analyst on disarmament issues based in London and Geneva. She has published several reports on the NPT Review and Extension Conference and on negotiations at the Conference on Disarmament. She represented the ACRONYM Consortium at the NPT Conference as a nongovernmental representative. The relationship between comprehensive test ban treaty (CTBT) negotiations a...

Abstract New nuclear monitoring technology was given an impromptu workout by the 2022 Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption. Pam Rowden outlines how one natural event tested capability of CTBT.

At the 25th anniversary of opening for signature Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), this paper seizes opportunity a self-imposed nuclear test moratorium by Democratic People’s Republic Korea (DPRK), analyzes Kazakhstan’s experience in dismantling its site, and proposes three policy recommendations as potential solutions to stir DPRK join CTBT: First, international community should co...

It is well-known that the design and production of nuclear weapons required major efforts in scientific research and engineering, with a supporting infrastructure of weapons laboratories. Less well-known, is that scientific research and development have also played an important role in nuclear arms control. In this paper, my purpose is to explain the role of seismology in treaty verification; t...

Scientists have, within the frame of the Conference on Disarmament, been successfully engaged in support of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) for many decades, starting long before negotiations began. This article proposes an International Scientific Network (ISN) to engage the global scientific community to explore how scientific and technological developments can support nuclea...

Motivation The Comprehensive-Nuclear-Test-Ban-Treaty (CTBT) aim to prohibit any nuclear explosion on Earth. For its realization a nuclear test verification strategy has to be set up, consisting of three pillars: •Monitoring • International Data Center •On-Site Inspection (OSI) OSI aims to be the ultimate tool to clarify wether or not a nuclear test has been carried out in violation of the CTBT....

www.physicstoday.org Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and to stop nuclear terrorism. One issue concerns the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) for which the US Senate declined to give its advice and consent in 1999. Since then, the UN General Assembly has elected five times to support the CTBT, with a cumulative vote of 870 to 7 (5 negative votes for the US, 1...

We study the interaction of a seismic wave-field with a spherical acoustic gas-or fluid-filled cavity. The intention of this study is to identify characteristic features in the interaction that may help detecting cavities in the subsurface. This is important for many applications, as in particular the detection of underground nuclear explosions which are to be prohibited by the Comprehensive-Te...

Cavity decoupling in salt is the most plausible means by which a nation could conduct clandestine testing of militarily significant nuclear weapons. The conditions under which solution-mined salt can be used for this purpose are quite restrictive. The salt must be thick and reasonably pure. Containment of explosions sets a shallow limit on depth, and cavity stability sets a deep limit. These co...