Speaker
Description
Discriminating nuclear weapons testing programs from civilian sources is difficult due to highly variable atmospheric radioxenon backgrounds. We aim to study the transport of byproduct gases produced by subsurface explosions, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen (H2), as novel signatures for proliferation monitoring. To demonstrate how ratios of gases produced by explosions can change during transport in geomaterials, we conducted laboratory benchtop experiments on the transport of these gases through variably saturated zeolitic tuff, which is abundant at site of historic US testing. We observed that zeolitic tuff sorbs substantial quantities of CO2 while allowing H2 to transport more easily, leading to changes in the molecular ratios of the two gases along the transport pathway. Gas uptake in the dry zeolite core was 72.3% for CO2, compared with 53.4% for xenon and 7.6% for H2. The presence of 20% water saturation disrupted the CO2 sorption process, though to a lesser extent than observed for noble gases, with a 36.7% drop in xenon sorption compared with a 21.9% drop for CO2. These results represent the first observations of zeolite sorption impacts on explosive gases leading to changes in gas ratios during transport through geomedia relevant to nuclear proliferation monitoring.
| Country | USA |
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