C.L. is at Balapan, near Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan, part of the former Soviet Union (See map.). This area is part of the former Soviet Union's nuclear test site. Between 1949 and 1989, almost 500 nuclear tests were conducted here. The 548 meter wide lake is the result of an old Soviet experiment. They used a shallowly buried nuclear bomb to throw material up and back - a 'cratering shot'. This occurred January 15, 1965 and was much like our own 'Sedan' experiment.
Now, many years after that blast, the Geophysics Group (EES-11) of Los Alamos National Laboratory is here to gather the first U. S. seismic data from the dismantling of this former Soviet nuclear test facility.
C.L., Eric (Department of Defense), Tatiana (Kazakhstan, interpreter), Steve (Washington, interpreter), Diane Baker (LANL, seismic data analyst) and Valery (Kazakhstan National Nuclear Center, geologist) pause by 'Atomic Lake'. (Image 3)
