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Collapse and Earthquake Swarm After North Korea's 3 September 2017 Nuclear Test

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Abstract

North Korea's 3 September 2017 nuclear test was followed by several small seismic events, with one eight-and-a-half minutes after the test and three on and after 23 September 2017. Seismic analysis reveals that the first event is a near vertical on-site collapse toward the nuclear test center from 440 ± 260 m northwest of the test site, with its seismic source best represented by a single force with a dip angle of 70°–75° and an azimuth of ~150°, and the later events are an earthquake swarm located 8.4 ± 1.7 km north of the test site within a region of 520 m, with a focal depth of at least 2.4 km and a focal mechanism of nearly pure strike slip along the north-south direction with a high dip angle of 50°–90°. The occurrence of the on-site collapse calls for continued monitoring of any leaks of radioactive materials from the test site.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)3976-3983
Number of pages8
JournalGeophysical Research Letters
Volume45
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - May 16 2018

Keywords

  • North Korea's 3 September 2017 nuclear test
  • collapse
  • earthquake swarm
  • focal depth and mechanism
  • high-precision relative location
  • small seismic events

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