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Operation Grommet

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Operation Grommet
GrommetCannikin,4.8Mt. Largest U.S. Underground nuclear test.
Information
CountryUnited States
Test site
  • Amchitka Island, Alaska
  • NTS Area 12, Rainier Mesa
  • NTS Area 16, Shoshone Mountain
  • NTS Areas 5, 11, Frenchman Flat
  • NTS Areas 1–4, 6–10, Yucca Flat
Period1971–1972
Number of tests34
Test typeunderground shaft, tunnel
Max. yield4.8megatonnes of TNT(20 PJ)
Test series chronology
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TheUnited States's Grommet nuclear test series[1]was a group of 34nuclear testsconducted in 1971–1972. These tests[note 1]followed theOperation Emeryseries and preceded theOperation Toggleseries.

List of the nuclear tests[edit]

See also:List of nuclear weapons tests of the United States
United States' Grommet series tests and detonations
Name[note 2] Date time (UT) Localtime zone[note 3][2] Location[note 4] Elevation+ height[note 5] Delivery[note 6]
Purpose[note 7] 		Device[note 8] Yield[note 9] Fallout[note 10] References Notes
Diamond Mine July 1, 197114:00:00.04 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTSArea U16a.0637°00′41″N116°12′15″W/ 37.01148°N 116.20427°W/37.01148; -116.20427(Diamond Mine) 1,896 m (6,220 ft) – 266.15 m (873.2 ft) tunnel,
joint verification 		less than 20 kt [1][3][4] Designed to test detection of underground nuclear tests; seeVela Uniform.
Miniata July 8, 197114:00:00.082 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTSArea U2bu37°06′37″N116°03′10″W/ 37.11018°N 116.05268°W/37.11018; -116.05268(Miniata) 1,247 m (4,091 ft) – 528.83 m (1,735.0 ft) underground shaft,
peaceful research 		83 kt Venting detected, 180Ci(6,700GBq) [1][3][4][5][6][7] Project Plowshare– device development.
Bracken July 9, 197114:00:00.16 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTSArea U10aq37°09′52″N116°02′01″W/ 37.1644°N 116.0336°W/37.1644; -116.0336(Bracken) 1,297 m (4,255 ft) – 304.8 m (1,000 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		250 t Venting detected, 1 Ci (37 GBq) [1][3][4][6][8]
Apodaca July 21, 197113:33:00.05 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTSArea U3gs37°00′52″N115°59′34″W/ 37.01436°N 115.99265°W/37.01436; -115.99265(Apodaca) 1,195 m (3,921 ft) – 241.4 m (792 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		250 t [1][3][4][8]
Barranca August 4, 197113:30:00.042 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTSArea U3he37°01′34″N116°01′13″W/ 37.02606°N 116.02031°W/37.02606; -116.02031(Barranca) 1,187 m (3,894 ft) – 270.74 m (888.3 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		less than 20 kt [1][3][4]
Nama-Amarylis– 1 August 5, 197118:07:45.2 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTSArea U9itsxy337°08′42″N116°02′03″W/ 37.14503°N 116.03417°W/37.14503; -116.03417(Nama-Amarylis – 1) 1,273 m (4,177 ft) – 272.8 m (895 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		less than 20 kt [1][3][4] Simultaneous, separate holes.
Nama-Mephisto– 2 August 5, 197118:07:45.2 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTSArea U9itsz2737°08′26″N116°01′56″W/ 37.14062°N 116.03214°W/37.14062; -116.03214(Nama-Mephisto – 2) 1,276 m (4,186 ft) + underground shaft,
weapons development 		less than 20 kt [1][3][4] Simultaneous, separate holes.
Baltic August 6, 197114:31:00.16 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTSArea U9itss2537°08′18″N116°02′31″W/ 37.13843°N 116.04182°W/37.13843; -116.04182(Baltic) 1,260 m (4,130 ft) – 411.48 m (1,350.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		less than 20 kt [1][3][4]
Algodones August 18, 197114:00:00.03 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTSArea U3jn37°03′26″N116°02′14″W/ 37.05715°N 116.0372°W/37.05715; -116.0372(Algodones) 1,206 m (3,957 ft) – 527.61 m (1,731.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		67 kt [1][3][4][7][9]
Frijoles-Deming– 1 September 22, 197114:00:00.037 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTSArea U3jw37°01′18″N116°01′01″W/ 37.02158°N 116.01694°W/37.02158; -116.01694(Frijoles-Deming – 1) 1,186 m (3,891 ft) – 149.86 m (491.7 ft) underground shaft,
safety experiment 		500 t [1][3][4][8] Simultaneous, separate holes.
Frijoles-Espuela– 2 September 22, 197114:00:00.04 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTSArea U3ju37°01′22″N116°01′01″W/ 37.02268°N 116.01707°W/37.02268; -116.01707(Frijoles-Espuela – 2) 1,186 m (3,891 ft) + underground shaft,
safety experiment 		less than 5 kt [1][3][4] Simultaneous, separate holes.
Frijoles-Guaje– 3 September 22, 197114:00:00.04 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTSArea U3hf37°01′28″N116°00′58″W/ 37.02438°N 116.01603°W/37.02438; -116.01603(Frijoles-Guaje – 3) 1,186 m (3,891 ft) + underground shaft,
weapons development 		less than 5 kt [1][3][4] Simultaneous, separate holes.
Frijoles-Petaca– 4 September 22, 197114:00:00.04 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTSArea U3hz37°01′19″N116°01′11″W/ 37.02193°N 116.01963°W/37.02193; -116.01963(Frijoles-Petaca – 4) 1,185 m (3,888 ft) + underground shaft,
weapons development 		less than 5 kt [1][3][4] Simultaneous, separate holes.
Pedernal September 29, 197114:00:00.04 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTSArea U3hg37°00′40″N116°00′29″W/ 37.01101°N 116.00809°W/37.01101; -116.00809(Pedernal) 1,180 m (3,870 ft) – 378.68 m (1,242.4 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		4 kt [1][3][4][9]
Chantilly September 29, 197114:30:00.14 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTSArea U2di37°07′28″N116°05′17″W/ 37.12447°N 116.08798°W/37.12447; -116.08798(Chantilly) 1,280 m (4,200 ft) – 330.71 m (1,085.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		less than 20 kt [1][3][4]
Cathay October 8, 197114:30:00.15 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTSArea U9ch37°06′49″N116°02′18″W/ 37.11373°N 116.0382°W/37.11373; -116.0382(Cathay) 1,261 m (4,137 ft) – 377.95 m (1,240.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		7 kt [1][3][4][7][8]
Lagoon October 14, 197114:30:00.16 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTSArea U10ar37°10′48″N116°03′14″W/ 37.17987°N 116.05396°W/37.17987; -116.05396(Lagoon) 1,286 m (4,219 ft) – 304.8 m (1,000 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		5 kt [1][3][4]
Cannikin November 6, 197122:00:00.06 BST (–11 hrs)
 Amchitka Island, Alaska51°28′12″N179°06′24″E/ 51.4699°N 179.10671°E/51.4699; 179.10671(Cannikin) 63 m (207 ft) – 1,790 m (5,870 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		4.8 Mt [1][4][7] A test of theSpartan ABMwarhead. The largest underground nuclear test ever.
Diagonal Line November 24, 197120:15:00.17 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U11g36°52′45″N115°56′09″W/ 36.8793°N 115.93587°W/36.8793; -115.93587(Diagonal Line) 1,010 m (3,310 ft) – 264.26 m (867.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapon effect 		4 kt Venting detected off site, 6.8 kCi (250 TBq) [1][3][4][5][6][7] Picture of the "Ship of the Desert", a structure for capturing neutrons for experiments with this test:File:NNSA-NSO-1347.jpg.
Parnassia November 30, 197115:45:00.15 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U2bc37°09′38″N116°04′16″W/ 37.16045°N 116.07112°W/37.16045; -116.07112(Parnassia) 1,302 m (4,272 ft) – 330.71 m (1,085.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		10 kt [1][3][4]
Chaenactis December 14, 197121:09:59.16 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U2dl37°07′26″N116°05′26″W/ 37.12393°N 116.09049°W/37.12393; -116.09049(Chaenactis) 1,281 m (4,203 ft) – 331.01 m (1,086.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		24 kt [1][3][4][7][8]
Hospah December 14, 197121:10:01.04 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3je37°01′33″N116°01′48″W/ 37.02584°N 116.02992°W/37.02584; -116.02992(Hospah) 1,188 m (3,898 ft) – 302.03 m (990.9 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		11 kt [1][3][4]
Yerba December 14, 197121:10:01.04 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U1c37°01′23″N116°03′34″W/ 37.02317°N 116.05957°W/37.02317; -116.05957(Yerba) 1,202 m (3,944 ft) – 331.99 m (1,089.2 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		5 kt [1][3][4]
Mescalero January 5, 197215:10:00.04 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3gu37°02′44″N116°01′49″W/ 37.04565°N 116.03032°W/37.04565; -116.03032(Mescalero) 1,198 m (3,930 ft) – 120.24 m (394.5 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		less than 20 kt [1][3][4]
Cowles February 3, 197221:45:00.04 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3hx37°00′04″N116°01′13″W/ 37.00105°N 116.02016°W/37.00105; -116.02016(Cowles) 1,178 m (3,865 ft) – 301.78 m (990.1 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		2 kt [1][3][4][8][10]
Dianthus February 17, 197219:02:00.16 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U10at37°09′56″N116°03′26″W/ 37.16566°N 116.05711°W/37.16566; -116.05711(Dianthus) 1,279 m (4,196 ft) – 304.8 m (1,000 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		3.5 kt Venting detected, 18 Ci (670 GBq) [1][3][4][6][8]
Sappho March 23, 197218:50:00.16 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U2dh237°06′47″N116°04′54″W/ 37.113°N 116.08169°W/37.113; -116.08169(Sappho) 1,266 m (4,154 ft) – 197.82 m (649.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		4 kt Venting detected, 9 Ci (330 GBq) [1][3][4][6][10]
Ocate– 2 (withOnaja) March 30, 197221:00:00.08 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3jp37°00′16″N116°00′56″W/ 37.00449°N 116.01565°W/37.00449; -116.01565(Ocate – 2) 1,179 m (3,868 ft) + underground shaft,
weapons development 		less than 20 kt [1][3][4]
Onaja– 1 (withOcate) March 30, 197221:00:00.04 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3js37°00′20″N116°01′15″W/ 37.0055°N 116.02078°W/37.0055; -116.02078(Onaja – 1) 1,180 m (3,870 ft) – 279.04 m (915.5 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		8 kt [1][3][4]
Longchamps April 19, 197216:32:00.16 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U2dm37°07′19″N116°05′05″W/ 37.12204°N 116.08486°W/37.12204; -116.08486(Longchamps) 1,276 m (4,186 ft) – 326.44 m (1,071.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		8 kt [1][3][4][7]
Jicarilla April 19, 197216:42:00.05 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3jm37°00′24″N116°01′02″W/ 37.00661°N 116.01734°W/37.00661; -116.01734(Jicarilla) 1,180 m (3,870 ft) – 148.11 m (485.9 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		less than 20 kt [1][3][4]
Misty North May 2, 197219:15:00.04 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U12n.0537°12′27″N116°12′35″W/ 37.20762°N 116.20963°W/37.20762; -116.20963(Misty North) 2,199 m (7,215 ft) – 376.08 m (1,233.9 ft) tunnel,
weapon effect 		19 kt [1][3][4][8][9]
Kara May 11, 197214:00:00.16 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U2dh337°06′45″N116°05′07″W/ 37.11247°N 116.08525°W/37.11247; -116.08525(Kara) 1,267 m (4,157 ft) – 259.08 m (850.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		500 t Venting detected, 7 Ci (260 GBq) [1][3][4][6][8]
Zinnia May 17, 197214:10:00.16 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U2dk37°07′14″N116°05′20″W/ 37.12056°N 116.08883°W/37.12056; -116.08883(Zinnia) 1,277 m (4,190 ft) – 322.78 m (1,059.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		8 kt Venting detected, 7 Ci (260 GBq) [1][3][4][5][7][8]
Monero May 19, 197217:00:00.05 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3jg37°03′53″N116°00′09″W/ 37.06469°N 116.0025°W/37.06469; -116.0025(Monero) 1,245 m (4,085 ft) – 537.35 m (1,763.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		12 kt [1][3][4][9]
Merida June 7, 197215:20:00.16 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U2dn37°06′57″N116°05′10″W/ 37.11579°N 116.08619°W/37.11579; -116.08619(Merida) 1,271 m (4,170 ft) – 204.22 m (670.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		800 t Venting detected, 10 Ci (370 GBq) [1][3][4][6][8]
Capitan June 28, 197214:41:00.19 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3jj36°59′33″N116°01′23″W/ 36.99256°N 116.02302°W/36.99256; -116.02302(Capitan) 1,175 m (3,855 ft) – 134.48 m (441.2 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		600 t [1][3][4][8]
Tajique June 28, 197216:30:00.07 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U7aa37°04′10″N115°59′34″W/ 37.06958°N 115.99286°W/37.06958; -115.99286(Tajique) 1,274 m (4,180 ft) – 332.31 m (1,090.3 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		less than 20 kt [1][3][4]
Haplopappus June 28, 197216:30:03.16 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U9itsw2237°08′07″N116°02′10″W/ 37.13515°N 116.03614°W/37.13515; -116.03614(Haplopappus) 1,264 m (4,147 ft) – 184.4 m (605 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development 		6 kt [1][3][4]
  1. ^A bomb test may be a salvo test, defined as two or more explosions "where a period of time between successive individual explosions does not exceed 5 seconds and where the burial points of all explosive devices can be connected by segments of straight lines, each of them connecting two burial points and does not exceed 40 kilometers in length".Mikhailov, V. N."Catalog of World Wide Nuclear Testing".Begell-Atom. Archived fromthe originalon April 26, 2014.
  2. ^The US, France and Great Britain have code-named their test events, while the USSR and China did not, and therefore have only test numbers (with some exceptions – Soviet peaceful explosions were named). Word translations into English in parentheses unless the name is a proper noun. A dash followed by a number indicates a member of a salvo event. The US also sometimes named the individual explosions in such a salvo test, which results in "name1 – 1 (with name2)". If test is canceled or aborted, then the row data like date and location discloses the intended plans, where known.
  3. ^To convert the UT time into standard local, add the number of hours in parentheses to the UT time; for local daylight saving time, add one additional hour. If the result is earlier than 00:00, add 24 hours and subtract 1 from the day; if it is 24:00 or later, subtract 24 hours and add 1 to the day. Historical time zone data obtained from theIANA time zone database.
  4. ^Rough place name and a latitude/longitude reference; for rocket-carried tests, the launch location is specified before the detonation location, if known. Some locations are extremely accurate; others (like airdrops and space blasts) may be quite inaccurate. "~" indicates a likely pro-forma rough location, shared with other tests in that same area.
  5. ^Elevation is the ground level at the point directly below the explosion relative to sea level; height is the additional distance added or subtracted by tower, balloon, shaft, tunnel, air drop or other contrivance. For rocket bursts the ground level is "N/A". In some cases it is not clear if the height is absolute or relative to ground, for example,Plumbbob/John.No number or units indicates the value is unknown, while "0" means zero. Sorting on this column is by elevation and height added together.
  6. ^Atmospheric, airdrop, balloon, gun, cruise missile, rocket, surface, tower, and barge are all disallowed by thePartial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.Sealed shaft and tunnel are underground, and remained useful under the PTBT. Intentional cratering tests are borderline; they occurred under the treaty, were sometimes protested, and generally overlooked if the test was declared to be a peaceful use.
  7. ^Include weapons development, weapon effects, safety test, transport safety test, war, science, joint verification and industrial/peaceful, which may be further broken down.
  8. ^Designations for test items where known, "?" indicates some uncertainty about the preceding value, nicknames for particular devices in quotes. This category of information is often not officially disclosed.
  9. ^Estimated energy yield intons, kilotons, and megatons.A ton of TNT equivalent is defined as 4.184 gigajoules (1 gigacalorie).
  10. ^Radioactive emission to the atmosphere aside from prompt neutrons, where known. The measured species is only iodine-131 if mentioned, otherwise it is all species. No entry means unknown, probably none if underground and "all" if not; otherwise notation for whether measured on the site only or off the site, where known, and the measured amount of radioactivity released.

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadaeafagahaiajakalamanYang, Xiaoping; North, Robert; Romney, Carl (August 2000),CMR Nuclear Explosion Database (Revision 3),SMDC Monitoring Research
  2. ^"Time Zone Historical Database".iana.Archivedfrom the original on March 11, 2014.RetrievedMarch 8,2014.
  3. ^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadaeafagahaiajakalOfficial list of underground nuclear explosions,Sandia National Laboratories, July 1, 1994,retrievedDecember 18,2013
  4. ^abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaabacadaeafagahaiajakalamUnited States Nuclear Tests: July 1945 through September 1992(PDF)(DOE/NV-209 REV15), Las Vegas, NV: Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office, December 1, 2000, archived fromthe original(PDF)on October 12, 2006,retrievedDecember 18,2013
  5. ^abcEstimated exposures and thyroid doses received by the American people from Iodine-131 in fallout following Nevada atmospheric nuclear bomb tests, Chapter 2(PDF),National Cancer Institute, 1997, archived fromthe original(PDF)on December 21, 2010,retrievedJanuary 5,2014
  6. ^abcdefgRadiological Effluents Released from U.S. Continental Tests 1961 Through 1992 (DOE/NV-317 Rev. 1)(PDF),DOE Nevada Operations Office, August 1996, archived fromthe original(PDF)on November 3, 2013,retrievedOctober 31,2013
  7. ^abcdefghBolt, Bruce A. (1976),Nuclear Explosions and Earthquakes: The Parted Veil,San Francisco, CA: W.H. Freeman and Co.[1]ArchivedJune 1, 2016, at theWayback Machine
  8. ^abcdefghijklNorris, Robert Standish; Cochran, Thomas B. (February 1, 1994),"United States nuclear tests, July 1945 to 31 December 1992 (NWD 94-1)"(PDF),Nuclear Weapons Databook Working Paper,archived fromthe original(PDF)on October 29, 2013,retrievedOctober 26,2013
  9. ^abcdHechanova, Anthony E.; O'Donnell, James E. (September 25, 1998),Estimates of yield for nuclear tests impacting the groundwater at the Nevada Test Site,Nuclear Science and Technology Division
  10. ^abOperation Argus, 1958(DNA6039F), Washington, DC: Defense Nuclear Agency, Department of Defense, 1982,archivedfrom the original on November 16, 2021,retrievedNovember 26,2013
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