Next Major Scientific CTBT Conference scheduled
for June 2013

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is unique among arms control treaties in the sophistication and scale of its verification provisions. These include a global network of 337 monitoring facilities, the near real-time transmission of data via satellite to the organization’s headquarters in Vienna, the continuous processing and analysis of data at the CTBTO’s International Data Centre (IDC), and a framework for conducting on-site inspections following suspicious events. These components are all heavily reliant on science and technology across a broad front. The rapidly changing technological landscape in fields relevant to the CTBTO poses a particular challenge if the capabilities of verification, both inside the CTBTO and within its Member States, are to be maximized.

The verification regime is well advanced, with the International Monitoring System 85% complete and the IDC operating continuously on a provisional basis. The two nuclear tests conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 2006 and 2009 were detected widely across the global network of stations immediately and precisely.
The range of scientific and technological fields utilized by the CTBTO includes seismology, hydroacoustics, infrasound, and many other geophysical methods (especially for on-site inspections). Equally important is radionuclide monitoring, both of particulates and noble gases. Atmospheric transport modelling (ATM), meteorology, data transmission methods, machine-learning and performance monitoring also have a crucial role to play. National technical means for CTBT verification, such as the different satellite-based methods of observation, extend this range considerably. Some components of the verification regime, such as on-site inspections and procedures to allow an in-depth analysis of potentially suspicious events by the CTBTO, will not be implemented until after the Treaty’s entry into force, but preparations for this crucial milestone require that all components be developed, refined, evaluated and tested in advance.

The format of S&T2013 will build on that of the 2011 scientific conference (S&T2011), which welcomed 700 participants from 100 countries. The scientific programme will include both invited and contributed oral and poster presentations. The inclusion of ‘Innovation’ in the title is in recognition of the importance of technology foresight in the longer term planning of future improvements. Presentations on novel methods, equipment and facilities which may gain future importance, will also receive new emphasis. As in the past, the interface between scientific advancements and policy making will be explored in panel discussions, and a number of initiatives are planned to promote interest in the relevant research fields as applied to CTBT verification, and to foster the work of its younger scientists.