How are nuclear tests detected?

Nuclear weapons tests can be carried out underground, in the atmosphere and under water. The first nuclear bomb attempt was the 20-kiloton (equivalent to 20,000-ton TNT) Trinity bomb detonated on July 16, 1945. More than 2000 nuclear weapons attempts were carried out between 1945-1996. 1032 of these trials belong to the USA, 715 to the Soviet Union, 45 to Britain, 210 to France and 45 to China.

Nuclear weapon tests in the atmosphere and under water were banned in 1963 due to the harmful effects of the released nuclear waste. The underground trials, which make up about 75% of the nuclear weapon trials to date, were blocked in 1996 due to the danger posed by nuclear waste reaching the surface of the earth. Nuclear experiments carried out today are monitored by the International Imaging System (IMS). One of the technologies used for this purpose is the seismic imaging method. In this method, underground seismic waves are detected due to the energy released during nuclear weapons trials. These measurements are made at 170 stations installed worldwide.