Major Programme 1:International Monitoring System

The year 2001 saw a significant consolida-tion and further advancement in the imple-mentation of the International Monitoring

System (IMS). All tasks that are part of the processof installing a monitoring station showed an im-portant increase in number. In the case of site sur-veys, for example, this part of the programme israpidly approaching conclusion, with 84% of thesites now finished. Installations were finished at24 additional stations and 13 more facilities werecertified as meeting all the technical requirementsof the Commission, bringing the total number ofcertified stations to 24. In addition, the first radio-nuclide laboratory was certified. The number ofstations certified during 2001 fell short of the goal,for reasons beyond the control of the PTS. From atechnical point of view the main reason was thatsome types of stations and instruments were beingcertified for the first time, and various technicalissues needed to be corrected and resolved prior tocertification. This experience will help both thePTS and its IMS contractors in the future and willlead to a smoother and faster certification process.

The work and preparations undertaken in previousyears started to come to fruition in 2001. A signifi-cant figure in this respect is the number of stationscurrently being built around the world. A total of55 stations in the four technologies and 20 addi-

tional auxiliary seismic stations are now underconstruction. Excluding the auxiliary stations, thefirst number represents approximately one quarterof the IMS. This shows that after the necessaryperiod of consolidation, the build-up of the IMSstations is now a more mature and structured pro-cess. It is also worth mentioning that during 2001the IMS Division began to lay the groundwork forwhat will be one of its main responsibilities in thefuture: the operation and maintenance of IMS sta-tions.

■ IMS ESTABLISHMENT

A brief summary of the status of the establishmentof the IMS in each of the monitoring technologies,giving the main highlights for 2001, is presentedbelow. The status of the site survey and stationinstallation programmes at the end of 2001 is sum-marized in Tables 1 and 2. The site survey pro-gramme determines whether station locations givenin the Treaty are suitable, and establishes vitalinformation required in order to construct the sta-tions. The installation programme encompasses site preparation, equipment purchase, installation,testing and evaluation, leading to certification thatthe station meets all requirements of the Com-mission.

Major Programme 1: International Monitoring System

IMS Station Type Complete/ Under Way Contract Not StartedNot Required Pending

Primary seismic 46 0 0 4Auxiliary seismic 113 4 0 3Infrasound 43 7 2 8Hydroacoustic 8 2 1 0Radionuclide 60 5 6 9

IMS Station Type Complete/ Under Way Contract Not StartedSubstantially Pending

Meets Specifications

Primary seismic 25 16 1 8a

Auxiliary seismic 70 20 5 25b

Infrasound 13 11 9 27Hydroacoustic 3 2 3 3Radionuclide 11 25 12 32

a Two of these stations are operational but requirea major upgrade. The remaining six do not yetexist.b Eleven of these stations exist but require a majorupgrade. The remaining 14 do not yet exist.

TABLE 1. STATUS OF THE SITESURVEY PROGRAMME AS OF31 DECEMBER 2001

TABLE 2. STATUS OF THE STATIONINSTALLATION PROGRAMME ASOF 31 DECEMBER 2001

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Seismological MonitoringSystem

During 2001, one new site survey was completedfor a primary seismic array. Installations were com-pleted for 7 primary seismic arrays and 4 three-com-ponent stations. Six primary seismic stations werecertified. Site preparation or installation was inprogress for 13 primary seismic arrays and 3 three-component stations, either under contract to thePTS or under conditions of reduced assessment ornational funding.

In the auxiliary seismic network, inspection visitswere conducted for 10 stations and site surveyswere completed for 7 stations. Installations werecompleted for 1 auxiliary seismic array and 7 three-component stations. Site preparation or installationwas proceeding for 3 auxiliary seismic arrays and17 three-component stations, either under contractto the PTS or under conditions of reduced assess-ment or national funding.

Infrasound Monitoring System

During 2001, the infrasound monitoring programmebegan site survey fieldwork at isolated and difficultsites in Antarctica and on a remote island. A team ofofficers from all four IMS technologies undertooksite surveys for three IMS stations on Tristan daCunha in November. The first IMS station to be builtby the PTS in Antarctica, IS55 at Windless Bight,was completed in 2001. A certification visit to IS55had been planned for January 2002.

Six additional infrasound stations were completed and5 stations were certified. Construction of 11 stations isunder way and six contracts for site preparation andconstruction are under procurement. Two call-off con-tracts for provision of infrasound equipment and sup-port services were negotiated in 2001 and orders havebeen placed for instruments for 7 stations.

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Major Programme 1: International Monitoring System

UPGRADE OF PRIMARY SEISMIC ARRAY PS40, SONSECA, SPAIN.

WORK ON CENTRAL RECORDING FACILITY COMPUTERS AT PS40.

COVER ON 40 METRE BOREHOLE CONTAINING SENSOR AT PS40.

INSTALLATION OF INFRASOUND STATION IS55, WINDLESS BIGHT,ANTARCTICA.

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A total of 62 participants from States Signatoriesand the PTS attended the Infrasound TechnologyWorkshop organized by the Infrasound Laboratoryof the University of Hawaii, Manoa, United Statesof America, in November 2001. The objectives ofthe workshop were to discuss results of recent devel-opments in the field of infrasound research and toexchange ideas on techniques for modelling andanalysis of infrasound data. Infrasound is not a welldeveloped technology, and workshops of this kindassist greatly in improving the design of the sta-tions and in advancing the infrasound data process-ing at the International Data Centre (IDC).

Hydroacoustic MonitoringSystem

During 2001, a major achievement of the hydro-acoustic monitoring programme was the comple-tion and certification of another new hydrophonebased hydroacoustic station, the most expensivetype of station in the IMS. There are now two ofthis type of station completed and certified. Workcontinued on the installation of a third hydrophonebased station, and a contract was signed for themanufacture and installation of a fourth. On thebasis of work carried out in 2001, the site surveywork on the remaining hydrophone based stationswas expected to be completed by mid-2002.

The other type of hydroacoustic station, the T-phasestation, uses seismometers as sensors. The certifica-tion process is almost complete for the first T-phasestation. Equipment was delivered for a second such sta-tion and procurement action began for manufacture

Major Programme 1: International Monitoring System

LOADING CABLE FOR INSTALLATION OF HYDROACOUSTIC STATION HA1, CAPE LEEUWIN, AUSTRALIA.

VIEW OF WIND NOISE REDUCING PIPE ARRAY AT AN ARRAYELEMENT OF INFRASOUND STATION IS33, ANTANANARIVO,MADAGASCAR. INSET: INLET PORTS OF PIPE ARRAY.

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EXAMPLES OF INFRASOUND SIGNALS.

and installation at a further two stations of this type.The fieldwork was completed for the site survey ofthe remaining fifth T-phase station.

The PTS began work on the calibration of the IndianOcean region for performance of the hydroacousticstations. This work was the subject of a successfulCTBTO Hydroacoustic Workshop hosted by theScripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla,California, USA, in October 2001.

Radionuclide Monitoring System

During 2001, 10 radionuclide site surveys were com-pleted and the sites accepted; 5 additional site sur-veys were under way at the end of the year. Eight newstations were installed and 16 installations were inprogress. Four certification visits to stations weremade near the end of the year and certification ofthese stations is expected during the first quarter of2002. To date, only manual radionuclide particulatestations have been certified. Procedures are nowready for the certification of automatic particulatestations.

Performance tests for two of the noble gas detec-tion systems under consideration for deployment

in radionuclide noble gas stations were proceedingunder Phase III of the noble gas experiment; theother two systems will be deployed to stationsearly in 2002. A noble gas workshop, conducted at the IDC in December 2001, covered topics on noble gas data processing using available soft-ware, with the aim of preparing the IDC to processthe data from the two stations already installed.

The first certification of a radionuclide laboratorywas completed in 2001: this was RL3 in Seibers-dorf, Austria. A contract with RL3 to performradionuclide analysis of filter samples was signedin December. A laboratory proficiency test con-ducted in collaboration with the National PhysicsLaboratory, United Kingdom, was nearing comple-tion by the end of the year.

An informal Workshop on Radionuclide Labora-tories was held in Aldermaston, United Kingdom,in January 2001. Discussions focused on the results

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Major Programme 1: International Monitoring System

LAYING CABLE AT HA1.

AERIAL VIEW OF SITE OF RADIONUCLIDE STATION RN49,SPITSBERGEN, NORWAY.

AUTOMATIC AIR SAMPLER AT RN49.

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of the first laboratory proficiency test performed inthe previous year. The basis for the certification ofradionuclide laboratories was accepted, and the feestructure for laboratory services was established, amatter that had been under discussion for fouryears.

■ DELAYS CAUSED BY LACK OF GCI CONNECTIONS

A growing concern for the PTS is the delay inconnecting some completed IMS stations to theIDC caused by the lack of a connection to theGlobal Communications Infrastructure (GCI).The GCI connection is lacking either becausethere are licensing problems with the very smallaperture terminal (VSAT) at the station or because

the independent subnetwork is not yet ready. Thisis preventing the PTS from entering into testingand evaluation contracts with the station operatorsand, therefore, from bringing the stations to certi-fication and bringing new data into the IDC. The PTS will continue to seek solutions to theseproblems.

■ TRAINING

Two Technical Training Programme courses for sta-tion operators were held in the first and third quar-ters of 2001. Each course contained a first part inVienna and a second part in various institutions orfirms in Australia, Austria, Canada, Finland, France,New Zealand and the USA, depending on the tech-nology and the type of equipment installed in thestations. For the first time, firms that providedequipment were involved in training, which becamemore diversified according to the types of equip-ment used. In addition, installation contractors con-ducted on-site training during and after installationas part of their contracts. In total, 81 station opera-tors from 63 IMS facilities attended one or anotherform of the IMS training programme in 2001.

■ PLANNING

Provisional Operation and Maintenance of Stations

A comprehensive report of the workshop on theoperation and maintenance (O&M) of IMS stationsheld in October 2000 was presented to the Com-mission in 2001. The Commission adopted a num-ber of recommendations based on the workshopreport, and these are being implemented by the PTSto prepare for the provisional O&M of the IMS net-work. Some of these activities are described below.

A dedicated IMS group was created to coordinateO&M activities within the IMS Division. TheO&M group meets periodically to address a num-ber of tasks from the perspective of O&M.

Common operational procedures have been devel-oped for use by the IMS Division in preparing writtendocumentation, reporting formats and software.

Major Programme 1: International Monitoring System

MANUAL AIR SAMPLER AT RN6. INSET: AIR SAMPLER OPEN TOCHANGE FILTER.

VIEW OF SITE OF RADIONUCLIDE STATION RN6, TOWNSVILLE,AUSTRALIA.

These include configuration management proceduresand report templates, consistent station, site andchannel naming conventions, and a reporting systemfor managing various reports from station operators.

To develop an integrated logistics support systemfor the IMS, the PTS has been seeking expressionsof interest from qualified organizations willing toassist in network sustainment studies and otheractions.

Information Systems

The IMS Division took over project managementresponsibility for developing specific applicationmodules of the Database of the (Provisional) Tech-nical Secretariat (DOTS) related to the manage-ment of the IMS network configuration and otherIMS facility information. This is particularly im-portant in the light of the increasing number of cer-tified stations.

The IMS Division continued to develop, refine andmaintain a number of interim, practical tools address-ing various information issues. In cooperation withthe Procurement Section, contract management toolswere further enhanced for tracking the develop-ment and implementation of IMS contracts. Thishas helped accelerate the procurement process andthereby the build-up of the IMS.

■ EXTERNAL EVALUATION OF THEIMS MAJOR PROGRAMME

In accordance with a decision of the Commission,an external evaluation of the IMS Major Pro-gramme was carried out in Vienna in November.All necessary preparations were made by the IMSDivision in cooperation with other parts of the PTSto facilitate the work of the multidisciplinary teamof experts. The evaluation report was issued inDecember. The PTS began to study the findings inpreparation for the presentation of the report toWorking Group B in February 2002.

■ FACILITIES PROPOSED BY STATES SIGNATORIES FORDESIGNATION AS COOPERATINGNATIONAL FACILITIES

According to Article IV of the Treaty, States Partiesmay make available to the IDC data from nationalmonitoring stations that are not part of the IMSonce these facilities have been certified as meet-ing the requirements specified in the IMS Oper-ational Manuals. The Technical Secretariat wouldmaintain a list of such Cooperating NationalFacilities (CNFs). In 2001 the PTS received nomi-nations for CNFs from a State Signatory. Thesewill be transmitted to the Policy-Making Organs in2002.

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Major Programme 1: International Monitoring System