A U.S. Senate panel has called for ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in the current version of the fiscal 2008 defense authorization bill, a senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee said yesterday.
The U.S. Senate has increased funding for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) which will boost the existing international network of nuclear monitoring devices (IMS).
The International Monitoring System, an international network of seismographic sensors developed to verify compliance with the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, has agreed to release seismographic data that could be useful for Tsunami detection and early warning. However, the data release is on an experimental basis because there is still disagreement among the participants in the IMS as to whether the IMS should be providing early warning data.
Good overview of the status of the International Monitoring System, a global network of sensors in 89 countries that watch for nuclear tests and other seismic anamolies.
The International Data Center, an international agency that monitors nuclear explosions around the world, detected the recent underwater earthquake and tsunami in South East Asia but lacked the resources and infrastructure necessary to warn the regions likely to be affected.