A publication of the Office of Advanced Simulation & Computing, NA-114, NNSA Defense Programs
December 2007
NA-ASC-500-07—Issue
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Nuclear Forensics Traces Nuclear Explosions
If someone detonated a nuclear device, would we be able to identify where the material came from? Nuclear Forensics is “post-event” analysis of a nuclear event, and it would help to discover the source of a nuclear device. The ASC integrated codes already have significant capability to simulate nuclear events with a certain degree of confidence, but those are mostly our devices and our underground nuclear tests, under controlled conditions. What happens if, say, a terrorist group steals a device from a foreign country and sets it off in an underground parking garage? What can the ASC codes do to help with understanding the event?
The National Technical Nuclear Forensics (NTNF) effort is a multi-agency, national effort involving personnel who will perform emergency response, consequence management, and modeling with rapid turnaround to aid field work, as well as longer term work for device characterization. ASC has supported a fully integrated, bi-lab (Los Alamos National Laboratory [LANL] and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory [LLNL]) effort to improve the fundamental nuclear data and code capabilities in the modern ASC production codes in support of NTNF.
On Wednesday, November 12, a group of LANL and LLNL personnel, along with representatives from HQ, DTRA, DHS, and other organizations in NNSA, were briefed by LANL and LLNL on efforts so far and a path forward. Mark Chadwick (LANL) gave some introductory remarks. Chris Clouse (LLNL) described the code efforts at the two laboratories, and Bob Little (LANL) summarized their nuclear data efforts. This work is leading to a joint LLNL/LANL FY09 Level 1 Milestone for validated, fully operational capability for NTNF.
At the end of the presentation, there were discussions on opportunities and other work. For example, a question was posed whether there is a nuclear forensics problem that can utilize the resources of BlueGene/L. What capabilities may need to be developed for understanding device output signatures? And how can ASC codes help the other agencies to focus resources in their work?
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