Overview Nuclear weapons primer Confusion & Clarity The Target What GIS shows us Questions?
What is a nuclear weapon? For our purposes, a large explosive with
interesting side-effects Typical Effects:
“Hard Radiation” Pulse Fireball Shock Waves Thermal Pulse Fallout
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Minor_Scale_test_explosion.jpg
How Large is “Large”? All targets are not created equal Classified information
Witnesses Survivors
Public misinformation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Atomic_cloud_over_Hiroshima.jpg
Why nuclear weapons?
http://static.flickr.com/66/179437975_b222016850_m.jpghttp://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=19571639&imageID=138676155http://myspace-864.vo.llnwd.net/00801/46/89/801599864_m.jpg
A Sense of Scale Rochester, NY
http://maps.google.com
http://media.citiesunlimited.com/images/local/photos/06-02/8c15b3ad5c84bfa5a746529ea24251219609b472-350px-Rochester-NY-skyline.jpg.medium.jpg
http://www.roadfood.com/photos/mini_4285.jpg
GIS Hypocenter marked
via Editor Blast features
calculated
(optimal air burst
assumed) Buffers built
from results
15 kilotons “Little Boy” in Hiroshima
Legend
!( Hypocenter
20 psi overpressure
5 psi overpressure
lethal thermal rad.
Region Radius (km) Population
20 psi overpressure 2.1 3602
5 psi overpressure 1.8 22892
lethal thermal radiation 0.684 31464
100 kilotons 1962 “Storax Sedan” test
Legend
!( Hypocenter
20 psi overpressure
5 psi overpressure
lethal thermal rad.
Region Radius (km) Population
20 psi overpressure 1.3 11055
5 psi overpressure 3.4 95689
lethal thermal radiation 4.5 156193
1 megaton 1955 Soviet RDS-37 test (1.6
Mt)
Legend
!( Hypocenter
20 psi overpressure
5 psi overpressure
lethal thermal rad.
Region Radius (km) Population
20 psi overpressure 2.7 57605
5 psi overpressure 7.2 265794
lethal thermal radiation 11.7 420512
50 megatons 1961 Soviet “Tsar Bomba”
Legend
!( Hypocenter
20 psi overpressure
5 psi overpressure
lethal thermal rad.
Region Radius (km) Population
20 psi overpressure 9.9 355352
5 psi overpressure 26.3 695643
lethal thermal radiation 58 735343
Questions?