Tuesday 10th February 2026, 6.30pm, Sibson Lecture Theatre 3
David Green (AWE Blacknest)
How are seismic waves generated by underground nuclear tests? How do these waves propagate through Earth, and how do we detect this wave motion at thousands of kilometres from an explosion site? Can we distinguish between explosions and other sources of seismic signals? These are questions relevant to forensic seismologists, who attempt to provide assessments of explosions from the ground motion they produce.
In this talk we will look back at the development of forensic seismology, and discuss the techniques that have helped improve confidence in our ability to identify and locate underground explosions globally. We will discover how such techniques have also been used to better understand other sources of seismic waves including submarine disasters, underwater gas pipeline explosions, and accidental industrial detonations.
About the speaker
David Green is a geophysicist, specialising in the analysis of seismic and infrasonic waveforms. He completed a Geophysics degree at the University of Edinburgh, followed by a PhD in volcano seismology at the University of Leeds where he studied the links between seismicity and deformation at Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat. Following his PhD, David has continued to focus on explosively generated seismic and acoustic waves but in the field of nuclear test ban treaty monitoring; he has worked as a geophysicist at AWE Blacknest, home of the UK’s Forensic Seismology team, for the past 19 years. David is a Chartered Physicist and a Fellow of the Institute of Physics.
The talk is free and open to all. Doors open about half an hour before the talk begins.
For directions to the lecture theatre, see here.