Operation Cresset

Last updated

Cresset
Information
CountryUnited States
Test site
  • NTS Area 12, Rainier Mesa
  • NTS Area 19, 20, Pahute Mesa
  • NTS, Areas 1-4, 6-10, Yucca Flat
Period1977-1978
Number of tests22
Test typeunderground shaft, tunnel
Max. yield150 kilotonnes of TNT (630 TJ)
Test series chronology
Map all coordinatesin "Operation Cresset" using: OpenStreetMap  
Download coordinates as: KML

The United States's Cresset nuclear test series [1] was a group of 22 nuclear tests conducted in 1977-1978. These tests [note 1] followed the Operation Fulcrum series and preceded the Operation Quicksilver series.

United States' Cresset series tests and detonations
Name [note 2] Date time (UT)Local time zone [note 3] [2] Location [note 4] Elevation + height [note 5] Delivery [note 6]
Purpose [note 7] 		Device [note 8] Yield [note 9] Fallout [note 10] ReferencesNotes
BobstayOctober 26, 1977 14:15:00.08PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3jb 37°00′27″N116°01′03″W / 37.00759°N 116.01741°W / 37.00759; -116.01741 (Bobstay) 1,180 m (3,870 ft) - 381.3 m (1,251 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development		5 ktI-131 venting detected, 0.000003 Ci (0.00011 GBq) [1] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
Hybla GoldNovember 1, 1977 18:06:00.07PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U12e.20 37°11′16″N116°12′50″W / 37.18773°N 116.21384°W / 37.18773; -116.21384 (Hybla Gold) 2,239 m (7,346 ft) - 384.99 m (1,263.1 ft)tunnel,
weapon effect		Test version of the W61 10 ktI-131 venting detected, 0 [1] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] Shot to test the MX missile shallow buried trench basing concept to see if a nearby nuclear fireball would cause the trench to act as a shock tube.
SandreefNovember 9, 1977 22:00:00.075PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U7aq 37°04′20″N116°03′04″W / 37.07217°N 116.05115°W / 37.07217; -116.05115 (Sandreef) 1,221 m (4,006 ft) - 700.74 m (2,299.0 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development		150 kt [1] [3] [6] [7] [9]
SeamountNovember 17, 1977 19:30:00.077PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3kp 37°01′14″N116°01′33″W / 37.02055°N 116.02584°W / 37.02055; -116.02584 (Seamount) 1,186 m (3,891 ft) - 370.09 m (1,214.2 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development		10 kt [1] [6] [7]
RibDecember 14, 1977 15:00:00.17PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3jv 37°01′03″N116°01′07″W / 37.01752°N 116.01864°W / 37.01752; -116.01864 (Rib) 1,184 m (3,885 ft) - 212.84 m (698.3 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development		800 t [1] [6] [7] [9] [10]
FarallonesDecember 14, 1977 15:30:00.07PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3fa 37°08′09″N116°05′12″W / 37.13573°N 116.08658°W / 37.13573; -116.08658 (Farallones) 1,290 m (4,230 ft) - 668 m (2,192 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development		150 ktVenting detected, 1 Ci (37 GBq) [1] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
CamposFebruary 13, 1978 21:53:00.162PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U9cp 37°07′34″N116°01′57″W / 37.12607°N 116.03261°W / 37.12607; -116.03261 (Campos) 1,269 m (4,163 ft) - 319.6 m (1,049 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development		800 tVenting detected, 1.3 kCi (48 TBq) [1] [4] [5] [6] [7]
ReblochonFebruary 23, 1978 17:00:00.164PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U2en 37°07′25″N116°03′53″W / 37.12363°N 116.0647°W / 37.12363; -116.0647 (Reblochon) 1,261 m (4,137 ft) - 658.4 m (2,160 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development		120 ktVenting detected, 36 Ci (1,300 GBq) [1] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
KarabMarch 16, 1978 15:00:00.07PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U4ah 37°05′06″N116°04′57″W / 37.08512°N 116.08249°W / 37.08512; -116.08249 (Karab) 1,247 m (4,091 ft) - 331 m (1,086 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development		1.5 ktVenting detected [1] [5] [6] [7]
IcebergMarch 23, 1978 16:30:00.2PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U4g 37°06′07″N116°03′08″W / 37.10182°N 116.05236°W / 37.10182; -116.05236 (Iceberg) 1,239 m (4,065 ft) - 640.29 m (2,100.7 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development		120 kt [1] [3] [6] [7] [9]
TopmastMarch 23, 1978 16:30:00.114PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U7ay 37°05′56″N116°01′14″W / 37.09881°N 116.02049°W / 37.09881; -116.02049 (Topmast) 1,282 m (4,206 ft) - 457.81 m (1,502.0 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development		less than 20 kt [1] [6] [7]
BackbeachApril 11, 1978 17:45:00.073PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U19x 37°14′00″N116°22′10″W / 37.23344°N 116.36936°W / 37.23344; -116.36936 (Backbeach) 2,040 m (6,690 ft) - 671.78 m (2,204.0 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development		100 kt [1] [6] [7]
AscoApril 25, 1978 14:35:00.162PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U10bc 37°09′16″N116°02′08″W / 37.15452°N 116.03563°W / 37.15452; -116.03563 (Asco) 1,285 m (4,216 ft) - 183 m (600 ft)underground shaft,
safety experiment		less than 20 kt [1] [6] [7]
TransomMay 10, 1978 15:00:00.07PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U4f 37°05′16″N116°03′13″W / 37.08773°N 116.0535°W / 37.08773; -116.0535 (Transom) 1,231 m (4,039 ft) - 640 m (2,100 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development		no yield [1] [6] [7] Fizzle? Device destroyed by Quicksilver/Hearts detonation on 1979.
JackpotsJune 1, 1978 17:00:00.075PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3kj 37°01′14″N116°01′58″W / 37.02062°N 116.03267°W / 37.02062; -116.03267 (Jackpots) 1,186 m (3,891 ft) - 304.22 m (998.1 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development		600 t [1] [6] [7] [10]
SatzJuly 7, 1978 14:00:00.167PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U2dq 37°06′43″N116°04′41″W / 37.11185°N 116.07796°W / 37.11185; -116.07796 (Satz) 1,263 m (4,144 ft) - 315 m (1,033 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development		1.5 ktVenting detected [1] [5] [6] [7] [9]
LowballJuly 12, 1978 17:00:00.08PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U7av 37°04′43″N116°02′42″W / 37.07861°N 116.04493°W / 37.07861; -116.04493 (Lowball) 1,225 m (4,019 ft) - 564.88 m (1,853.3 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development		99 kt [1] [3] [6] [7] [9]
PanirAugust 31, 1978 14:00:00.164PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U19ys 37°16′33″N116°21′30″W / 37.27587°N 116.35823°W / 37.27587; -116.35823 (Panir) 2,013 m (6,604 ft) - 681 m (2,234 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development		140 kt [1] [6] [7]
Diablo HawkSeptember 13, 1978 15:15:00.16PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U12n.10a 37°12′32″N116°12′42″W / 37.20875°N 116.21165°W / 37.20875; -116.21165 (Diablo Hawk) 2,212 m (7,257 ft) - 388 m (1,273 ft)tunnel,
weapon effect		Weapon effect on W87 warhead [11] 8 kt [1] [6] [7] [11]
Cremino - 1September 27, 1978 16:30:00.165PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U8e 37°10′15″N116°05′17″W / 37.17096°N 116.08804°W / 37.17096; -116.08804 (Cremino - 1) 1,341 m (4,400 ft) - 210 m (690 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development		250 t [1] [6] [7] [10] Simultaneous, same hole.
Cremino-Caerphilly - 2September 27, 1978 16:30:00.17PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U8e 37°10′15″N116°05′17″W / 37.17096°N 116.08804°W / 37.17096; -116.08804 (Cremino-Caerphilly - 2) 1,341 m (4,400 ft) +underground shaft,
weapons development		less than 20 kt [1] [6] [7] Simultaneous, same hole.
DraughtsSeptember 27, 1978 17:00:00.071PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U7al 37°04′26″N116°01′15″W / 37.07382°N 116.0207°W / 37.07382; -116.0207 (Draughts) 1,234 m (4,049 ft) - 441.59 m (1,448.8 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development		25 kt [1] [3] [6] [7] [9]
RummySeptember 27, 1978 17:20:00.076PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U7au 37°04′47″N116°03′09″W / 37.07974°N 116.05253°W / 37.07974; -116.05253 (Rummy) 1,226 m (4,022 ft) - 639.78 m (2,099.0 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development		150 kt [1] [3] [6] [7] [9]
  1. ↑ A bomb test may be a salvo test, defined as two or more explosions "where a period of time between successive individual explosions does not exceed 5 seconds and where the burial points of all explosive devices can be connected by segments of straight lines, each of them connecting two burial points and does not exceed 40 kilometers in length". Mikhailov, V. N., Editor in Chief. "Catalog of World Wide Nuclear Testing". Begell-Atom, LLC. Archived from the original on April 26, 2014.Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ↑ The US, France and Great Britain have code-named their test events, while the USSR and China did not, and therefore have only test numbers (with some exceptions – Soviet peaceful explosions were named). Word translations into English in parentheses unless the name is a proper noun. A dash followed by a number indicates a member of a salvo event. The US also sometimes named the individual explosions in such a salvo test, which results in "name1 – 1(with name2)". If test is canceled or aborted, then the row data like date and location discloses the intended plans, where known.
  3. ↑ To convert the UT time into standard local, add the number of hours in parentheses to the UT time; for local daylight saving time, add one additional hour. If the result is earlier than 00:00, add 24 hours and subtract 1 from the day; if it is 24:00 or later, subtract 24 hours and add 1 to the day. Historical time zone data obtained from the IANA time zone database.
  4. ↑ Rough place name and a latitude/longitude reference; for rocket-carried tests, the launch location is specified before the detonation location, if known. Some locations are extremely accurate; others (like airdrops and space blasts) may be quite inaccurate. "~" indicates a likely pro-forma rough location, shared with other tests in that same area.
  5. ↑ Elevation is the ground level at the point directly below the explosion relative to sea level; height is the additional distance added or subtracted by tower, balloon, shaft, tunnel, air drop or other contrivance. For rocket bursts the ground level is "N/A". In some cases it is not clear if the height is absolute or relative to ground, for example, Plumbbob/John. No number or units indicates the value is unknown, while "0" means zero. Sorting on this column is by elevation and height added together.
  6. ↑ Atmospheric, airdrop, balloon, gun, cruise missile, rocket, surface, tower, and barge are all disallowed by the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Sealed shaft and tunnel are underground, and remained useful under the PTBT. Intentional cratering tests are borderline; they occurred under the treaty, were sometimes protested, and generally overlooked if the test was declared to be a peaceful use.
  7. ↑ Include weapons development, weapon effects, safety test, transport safety test, war, science, joint verification and industrial/peaceful, which may be further broken down.
  8. ↑ Designations for test items where known, "?" indicates some uncertainty about the preceding value, nicknames for particular devices in quotes. This category of information is often not officially disclosed.
  9. ↑ Estimated energy yield in tons, kilotons, and megatons. A ton of TNT equivalent is defined as 4.184 gigajoules (1 gigacalorie).
  10. ↑ Radioactive emission to the atmosphere aside from prompt neutrons, where known. The measured species is only iodine-131 if mentioned, otherwise it is all species. No entry means unknown, probably none if underground and "all" if not; otherwise notation for whether measured on the site only or off the site, where known, and the measured amount of radioactivity released.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Yang, Xiaoping; North, Robert; Romney, Carl (August 2000), CMR Nuclear Explosion Database (Revision 3), SMDC Monitoring Research
  2. ↑ "Time Zone Historical Database". iana.com. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hechanova, Anthony E.; O'Donnell, James E. (September 25, 1998), Estimates of yield for nuclear tests impacting the groundwater at the Nevada Test Site, Nuclear Science and Technology Division
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Estimated exposures and thyroid doses received by the American people from Iodine-131 in fallout following Nevada atmospheric nuclear bomb tests, Chapter 2 (PDF), National Cancer Institute, 1997, retrieved January 5, 2014
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Radiological Effluents Released from U.S. Continental Tests 1961 Through 1992 (DOE/NV-317 Rev. 1) (PDF), DOE Nevada Operations Office, August 1996, archived from the original (PDF) on November 3, 2013, retrieved October 31, 2013
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Official list of underground nuclear explosions, Sandia National Laboratories, July 1, 1994, retrieved December 18, 2013
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 United States Nuclear Tests: July 1945 through September 1992 (PDF) (DOE/NV-209 REV15), Las Vegas, NV: Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office, December 1, 2000, archived from the original (PDF) on October 12, 2006, retrieved December 18, 2013
  8. ↑ "Twitter post by NuclearWeapons7". Twitter.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Operation Argus, 1958 (DNA6039F), Washington, DC: Defense Nuclear Agency, Department of Defense, retrieved November 26, 2013
  10. 1 2 3 Norris, Robert Standish; Cochran, Thomas B. (February 1, 1994), "United States nuclear tests, July 1945 to 31 December 1992 (NWD 94-1)" (PDF), Nuclear Weapons Databook Working Paper, Washington, DC: Natural Resources Defense Council, archived from the original (PDF) on October 29, 2013, retrieved October 26, 2013
  11. 1 2 Broad, William J. (1985). Star warriors : a penetrating look into the lives of the young scientists behind our space age weaponry. New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 109. ISBN   0671545663.
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