A Sensitive Technique for Detecting Late‐Time Absorption Following High‐Altitude Nuclear Explosions

TL;DRAbstract

Variations in atmospheric radio noise intensity measured at Kekaha, Hawaii, are used to detect long‐lasting ionospheric absorption produced by late‐time, radioactive debris deposited in the upper atmosphere by the high‐altitude nuclear explosions Star Fisli and King Fish. Variations in noise source intensity and location, combined with variations in radio propagation conditions between the source and receiver, describe the observed variations in received noise power at a distant station. At Kekaha, the noise level on frequencies between 0.5 and 5.0 MHz was depressed for about four nights following each explosion. The depression is explained by the existence of a low‐intensity absorbing region occupying a wide geographic area that effectively fills a major portion of the omnidirectional antenna beam employed at the noise receiving station.

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