High-precision location and yield of North Korea’s 2013 nuclear test

[1] Using North Korea’s 2009 nuclear test as reference and satellite imagery, we show that the location and yield of North Korea’s 2013 nuclear test can be quickly and accurately determined based on seismic data. North Korea’s 2013 nuclear test site is pinpointed by deriving relative location of North Korea’s 2009 and 2013 nuclear tests and using the previously determined location of the 2009 nuclear test, while its yield is estimated based on the relative amplitude ratios of the Lg waves recorded for both events, the previously determined Lg-magnitude of 2009 nuclear test and burial depth inferred from satellite imagery. North Korea’s 2013 test site is determined to be located at (41 17026.8800N, 129 4034.6800E), about 345m south and 453m west of its 2009 nuclear test site, with a geographic precision of 94m. Its yield is estimated to be 12.2 3.8 kt. Citation: Zhang, M., and L. Wen (2013), High-precision location and yield of North Korea’s 2013 nuclear test, Geophys. Res. Lett., 40, 2941–2946, doi:10.1002/grl.50607.