Press Release 122/2017

North Korean Nuclear Test Measured in Southwest Germany

KIT Geophysicists Measure Earthquake after Bomb Test – Seismic Waves Need Twelve Minutes to Arrive in Central Europe
 Sunday’s North Korean nuclear test raised Karlsruhe by one micrometer. (Photo: KIT, GPI)  ((Recordings by the seismic stations at GPI and in Durlach after the nuclear test))
Sunday’s North Korean nuclear test raised Karlsruhe by one micrometer. (Photo: KIT, GPI) ((Recordings by the seismic stations at GPI and in Durlach after the nuclear test))

The recent nuclear test by the regime in North Korea was even measurable in Southwest Germany. Two seismic stations run by scientists of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in the Karlsruhe city center and in Durlach recorded vibrations of 6.3 in body wave magnitude in the night from Saturday to Sunday.

 

“This corresponds to about a moderate earthquake,” Toni Zieger of KIT’s Geophysical Institute (GPI) says. “However, the detonation could not be felt here,” Zieger explains. The stations that belong to the Karlsruhe Wide Band Array (KABBA) run by GPI are equipped with highly sensitive measurement instruments that perceive shocks worldwide. According to the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam (GFZ), the detonation in North Korea took place at 5.30 am (MEST) in the night from Saturday to Sunday. About twelve minutes later, the seismic waves arrived in Karlsruhe. They made the ground in Karlsruhe rise and subside by about one micrometer.

 

 

Being “The Research University in the Helmholtz Association”, KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility, and information. For this, about 10,000 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 22,800 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence.

mex, 04.09.2017
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