1998 Pakistan underground nuclear tests
- October 8th, 2006 magnitude 4.2 mb event from an alleged nuclear test in North Korea
- 1998 India underground nuclear tests
- 1998 Pakistan underground nuclear tests
- Introduction
- Figures
- Data availability
- FTP access
- Catalog information
- Other local sites of interest
- Other sites
- Comparison of tests & Afghan earthquake
- Afghanistan earthquake-aftershock-2nd Pakistani nuclear test sequence
- China earthquakes and nuclear tests
Interactive Google map showing the locations of the 1998 India and Pakistan nuclear tests, the KNET seismic network station locations and the Mw 6.9 Afghanistan earthquake epicenter. Click the red star to see the event parameters for the Mw 6.9 Afghanistan earthquake that occurred around the same time as the nuclear tests. Click the yellow triangles to see the station name in the KNET seismic network. Click the nuclear test icon (mushroom cloud) to see the test event parameters. Double-click the map to zoom in.
Introduction
Pakistan conducted 2-5 underground nuclear tests during the morning hours of 28 May, 1998. The Kyrgyzstan Seismic Network (KNET) recorded one test with an estimated magnitude of 4.8. Reports on the yield of the blast vary. This Wikipedia page describes how kiloton yields can be measured. Filtered (0.8 – 3.0 Band Pass, BP) vertical components for the first Pakistani test can be viewed here.
An additional test was carried out on the morning of 30 May, 1998. Estimates of the yield of this test are also variable. The second Pakistan test was obscured by aftershocks from the Ms 6.9 earthquake which occured about 30 minutes before the second test. Examination of the KNET waveform data, based on the QED location, shows no observable body waves at the predicted arrival times. Using the first Pakistani explosion for calibration, the amplitude of the second Pakistani explosion is at least a factor of four smaller (0.6 magnitude units) for it not to be observed in the aftershock data.
Three stations (AAK, CHM, TKM2) recorded the first Pakistani test. 6-8 stations recorded the Afghanistan earthquake-aftershock-predicted arrivals for 2nd Pakistani nuclear test sequence.
Figures
- Map showing the locations of the KNET array, the origin for the Afghanistan earthquake, and the nuclear test sites of China, India, and Pakistan.
- Arrival of the seismic waves for the 28 May, 1998 Pakistani nuclear test nuclear recorded by AAK, CHM, and TKM2.
- Interactive graph showing the vertical component waveforms for the 30 May, 1998 Afghanistan earthquake.
Please view the page illustrating the Afghanistan earthquake-aftershock-2nd Pakistani nuclear test sequence and the page comparing the two nuclear tests and the Afghanistan earthquake.
Data Availability
KNET was operational for all 4 events: the Indian nuclear test, the first Pakistani test, the Afghanistan earthquake, and the predicted arrivals for the second Pakistani test. However, due to problems with telemetry, we do not have complete records from all stations for all events.
- 7 stations were operational for the first Indian nuclear test
- 3 stations were operational for the first Pakistani test
- 6-8 stations were operational for the Afghanistan earthquake
- 7 were operational during the predicted arrival time for the second Pakistani test
FTP access to data and figures
- SEED format waveforms
- CSS30 format waveforms and arrival/origin/etc tables
- Postscript versions of figures on this page and the Indian nuclear test page (not available yet)
Please visit our page detailing the nuclear tests conducted by India.
Catalog information
Lists of seismic events and event parameters are maintained by theComprehensive Test Ban Treaty Prototype International Data Centre and the USGS National Earthquake Information Center. The following is a brief description of their catalogs taken from their web sites:
The AEL is an event list generated by an automated processing of data returned from the IMS Primary seismic stations. An event is added to the list approximately one hour after it has been recorded. It has not been reviewed and should be taken as a first (not final!) estimate of location and magnitude.
The DEL is an event list generated by an automated processing of data returned from the IMS Primary and Auxiliary seismic stations. An event is added to the list approximately ten hours after it has been recorded. Again, it has not been reviewed and should be taken as a first (slightly better but not final!) estimate of location and magnitude.
The REB is an event list obtained after an analyst has reviewed and possibly revised the automated processing results.
The QED is a preliminary event list obtained by USGS.
The following table contains locations determined by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Prototype International Data Centre and the USGS National Earthquake Information Center. The times given are UTC (Greenwich Mean Time).
| Latitude | Longitude | Depth | Origin Time | mb | Author |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28.70 | 64.04 | 0.0 | 1998/05/30 06:54:56 | 4.3 | QED |
| 28.4948 | 63.7814 | 0.0 | 1998/05/30 06:54:57.1 | 4.6 | REB |
| 28.493 | 63.731 | 0.0 | 1998/05/30 06:54:54.9 | 4.6 | PDE |
| 28.960 | 64.730 | 0.0 | 1998/05/28 10:16:15.0 | 4.8 | QED |
| 28.9032 | 64.8933 | 0.0 | 1998/05/28 10:16:17.6 | 4.9 | REB |
| 28.902 | 64.789 | 0.0 | 1998/05/28 10:16:15.2 | 4.8 | PDE |
| Station | Channel | Arrival Time | Phase | SNR | Delta | Azimuth | mb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAK | BHZ | 5/28/1998 10:20:01.026 | P | 47.74 | 15.776 | 213.08 | 5.37 |
| CHM | BHZ | 5/28/1998 10:20:05.688 | P | 21.83 | 16.184 | 213.11 | 5.33 |
| TKM2 | BHZ | 5/28/1998 10:20:09.431 | P | 54.23 | 16.469 | 215.58 | 5.18 |
Other local sites of interest
Don't forget to visit our pages detailing
- Nuclear tests conducted by India
- KNET seismic network
- Afghanistan earthquake-aftershock-2nd Pakistani nuclear test sequence
- Comparison of the two nuclear tests and the Afghanistan earthquake
Other sites of interest
Share this page
If you find this page useful, please share it:
