FOIA: Evolution of some geophysical events on 22 Sep 1979 - Tiros-N satellite

LA_8672_APR_1981.pdf
Evolution of some geophysical events on 22 Sep 1979 - Tiros-N satellite
Los Alamos analysis of geophysical events, from the Tiros-N plasma and other geophysical data, associated with the Vela event of Sep 22, 1979 which is a suspected nuclear test.
Document date: 1981-04-01
Department: Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, DOE
Author: E.W. Holmes, Jr., D.N. Baker, W.C. Feidman
Document type: report
pages: 23


Archivist's Notes: Fair to good quality document. Poor photo quality. Barcoded. Reference and acknowldgment list.

Document title:“Evaluation of Some Geophysical Events on 22 September 1979” Dated April 1981.

This document differs from previous Vela reports in the following ways:
It appears to have never been Classified/Unclassified as a top secret document, the writers of this document were from the University of California though they did not have academic titles and therefore I assume they were students.

All information is legible and there is nothing blanked out. It is noted that it was ‘supported by the US departments of Energy and Defense.’

The first section of the document is the ‘Abstract’ where it is highlighted the
researchers’ intention/reason for investigating. They analysed the data of another satellite TIROS-N since it had an electron precipitation event that could have been
related to a surface nuclear burst (SNB) 2 min after the Vela event, though it was noted it was probably from the passage of Tiros-N through an auroral arc 3 min before the Vela signals.

However they note that no data was found that was inconsistent with the SNB interpretation, and the auroral light at the Antarctica a few seconds after the Vela event can be interpreted as a SNB.

In the ‘Introduction’the researchers conclude the following:
“We conclude that…this particular event was associated with an auroral arc that ..existed before the Vela event.

Although it may be argued that the segment of the arc sampled by TIROS-N was intensified by an SNB, we find no evidence to support this thesis…localized auroral brightening that occurred near Antarctica…showing how it might have been caused by an SNB. But an SNB association is by no means unique.”

The pages following include a technical background of TIROS-N event, the sudden localized auroral brightening near Syowa Base Antarctica, physical sequence possibly linking the auroral patch to an SNB.

This document is another report connected to the Alert 747 Vela Incident, in which the Vela Satellite detected a suspected atmospheric nuclear detonation in the Indian Ocean, south of Africa, on September 22, 1979.

The University of California wrote the report for the Department of Energy. It is an analysis of data recorded by Teros-N, which is a different satellite than Vela and is used to monitor weather by photographing the Earth from a geo-stationary orbit. The report is highly technical, very detailed, and is surprising without any redaction compared to other reports. It was discovered that Telos-N also picked up an event near the time of the Vela satellite, but it was two minutes later.

The report tests the data against historical data and the event fell into an average spread of many other similar events. They stated the event was due to precipitating electrons caused by naturally occurring auroral arc. There are some photographs of an all sky camera that were analyzed, and they said there was a small flash, but could not tell if it was the result of a nuclear explosion.

The conclusion was that the Telos-N event didn’t offer any definitive support that there was a nuclear explosion, but they also state that the data did not show that one didn’t happen either.

Related FOIA Documents:
FOIA: Defense Technical Intelligence Report for the 22 Sep 1979 Vela Satellite event
FOIA: DCIA memo on the Sep 22, 1979 Vela Satellite event recording a suspected nuclear test
FOIA: A report by a panel of non-government scientists on the Sep 22, 1979 Vela satellite event

Related Links:
Wikipedia article on the Vela Incident