Spidery forest gadgets catch secret nuclear blasts

[Nipuna]

(Image: NORSAR)

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In the Norwegian Arctic, what looks like a series of huge metallic spiderwebs is strewn through a 1.5 kilometre swathe of the Bardufoss forest. But the network of steel acoustic pipes are actually infrasound detectors, gently probing the ground for any rumbles below 20 hertz – beyond human hearing – that might signify a nuclear detonation. The array is one of 60 such stations in 35 countries that make up the International Monitoring System for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

(Image: NORSAR)

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