Spin-offs for disaster warning and science
Exploring the many uses of CTBTO data is one of the issues at the CTBT: Science and Technology Conferences, which take place every other year at the Vienna Imperial Hofburg Palace
Spin-offs of verification data include include: early tsunami warning; climate change knowledge; a better understanding of the Earth’s crust and core; non-intrusive whale studies.
The data provided by each technology can make a significant contribution:
Seismic – provides rapid information about earthquakes — of critical importance to early tsunami warnings, and contributes knowledge to research about the structure of the planet.
Infrasound – detects volcanic and chemical explosions, meteors and storm systems, and contributes to a better understanding of climate change.
Hydroacoustic – records ice shelf break up, tsunamis, whale calls. The data also contributes to shipping safety, weather forecasting and climate change estimates.
Radionuclide – provides knowledge about global background radiation levels, critical in the event of a nuclear accident, such as the Fukushima events. These data can also be used for historical studies of airborne pollutants and micro-organisms, as well as meteorology, supporting climate change research.