Welcome to Novaya Zemlya!
This is an annotated tour of Russia's Central Testing Ground at Novaya Zemlya, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. The underlying satellite image shows Zone B, where the Soviet Union conducted 31 underground nuclear tests and which remains Russia's only active nuclear test site - used for subcritical nuclear experiements. This site, now known as the Central Testing Ground, is comparable to the U.S. Nevada Test Site (now the Nevada National Security Site).
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Comparing U.S. and Russian test sites helps illustrate how both countries approached nuclear testing during the Cold War, how they manage their stockpiles today in an era without explosive testing, and the continuing importance of arms control preventing a return to the shared dangers of the arms race. Click a box for a tour of the test site. Four are provided: (1) History of Novaya Zemlya; (2) U.S. - Russia Arms Control; (3) Novaya Zemlya Today; and (4) Open-Source Monitoring.
The HIstory of Novaya Zemlya
U.S. - Russia arms control
novaya zemlya test site today
open source monitoring
In 1954, the Soviet Union established a nuclear test site on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. The site consisted of three separate testing zones: Zone A (Chernaya Bay) for atmospheric, underwater, and five underground nuclear tests; Zone B (Matochkin Shar) for underground nuclear tests; and Zone C (Sukhoy Nos) for atmospheric testing. Click on the numbers to learn more about testing in Zone B, where the Soviet Union began underground nuclear testing in 1964.
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Nuclear Testing During the Cold War
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Underground Nuclear Testing at Novaya Zemlya
Between September 18, 1964, and October 24, 1990, the Soviet Union carried out 31 nuclear tests at Zone B. The mushroom cloud icons denote all remaining test "adits", or test tunnel entrances.
The Soviets began to construct underground tunnels in Mount Lazarev in 1960, during a moratorium on nuclear testing as Moscow and Washington attempted to negotiate a treaty that would ban all atmospheric testing. Construction was halted for a period when negotiations collapsed and the Soviet Union resumed atmospheric testing (September 1961-December 1962).
Breaking Ground at Zone B
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This map shows the various test zones at Novaya Zemlya. Prior to the signing of the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (LTBT) in August 1963, Zones A and C were used for atmospheric and underwater nuclear tests. Zone B became an important location after the LTBT required parties to move testing underground. On September 18, 1964, the Soviet Union carried out its first underground nuclear test at Zone B.
The First Test
Mount Moiseev
By the mid-1970s, the Soviet Union began conducting tests in Mount Moiseev on the western side of the Shumilikha river valley. This video likely shows the first event conducted in this region of Zone B: Event #12 on August 23, 1975. The yield was approximately 1.5 megatons and the explosion resulted in the mountain subsiding and drawing the cloud layer down on top of it.
Image: VNIIEF
High-Yield Testing (1966-1975)
According to Soviet sources, Moscow developed Zone B for the purpose of conducting high-yield underground nuclear tests. The largest underground nuclear test conducted by the Soviet Union took place at Zone B on September 12, 1973, with a total yield of 3.3 megatons (equivalent to 3.3 million tons of TNT). The explosion triggered a rockslide on Mount Chernaya that buried the test support area and blocked the Zhuralevka Valley, creating Lake Nalivnoye. This picture shows the debris field from this catastrophic event.
The Last Test
On October 24, 1990, the Soviet Union conducted its final nuclear test ever at Novaya Zemlya before imposing a unilateral test moratorium in 1991. This 2016 satellite image, taken by Image Sat International's EROS-B satellite, shows the likely location of the final test in Mount Moiseev.
Image: 2016 Image Sat International N.V.
The harmful effects of radioactive fallout from atmospheric testing led to intense public outcry in the 1950s, especially after the Japanese fishing boat, Lucky Dragon, and its crew were contaminated by fallout from the 1954 U.S. Castle Bravo nuclear tests. Because of this, the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom began negotiating a treaty to restrict nuclear tests.
U.S. - Russia Arms Control
The 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty
On October 10,1963, the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (LTBT) entered into force. The treaty banned all atmospheric, underwater, and outer space nuclear testing. Eleven months later, the Soviet Union conducted its first test at the underground test site (Zone B) at Novaya Zemlya. This image shows Mount Lazarev, where the first test at Zone B was conducted.
Image: 1966, USGS
The Harmful Effects of Underground Nuclear Testing
A major reason for banning atmospheric nuclear tests was growing concern about the environmental and human health conequences of nuclear testing. Despite the USSR moving nuclear tests underground in 1963, scientists recorded 14 major radiation releases (above 1,000 Curies) at Zone B. this image shows venting in the aftermath of Event #28 on August 2, 1987. The United States also experienced radiation release incidents, including the infamous Baneberry Incident, seen in the second image, on December 18, 1970, at the Nevada Test Site.
Image: Johnny Skorve and Los Alamos National Lab
The Threshold Test Ban Treaty
In 1974, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to the Threshold Test Ban Treaty (TTBT), limiting the yield of underground nuclear tests to less than 150 kilotons. The event on August 10, 1978, in tunnel A-18, which had an apparent yield in excess of 200 kilotons, was the first of a series of Soviet tests that the United States asserted violated the TTBT. Concerns about Soviet compliance were raised to prevent the United States from ratifying the treaty. The TTBT did not enter into force until the end of 1990.
The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
The final Soviet nuclear test occurred on October 24, 1990. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ended Soviet testing unilaterally in the hopes of negotiating a comprehensive ban on nuclear testing. The U.S. conducted its last nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site on September 23, 1992. Negotiations commenced in 1993m resulting in the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) (which would ban all nuclear tests) being opened for signature in September 1996. Russia signed and ratified the treaty. The United States has signed the treaty, but not ratified it.
Transparency and Confidence Building Measures
One objection to ratifying the CTBT is the possibility that Russia might conduct low-yield nuclear explosions (so-called "hydronuclear" explosions) that violate the treaty but are hard to detect. Both the United States and Russia appear to use dedicated facilities in Nevada and Novaya Zemlya for subcritical experiements. The two parties could implement confidence-building and transparency measures to verify that neither party is crossing the line between permitted subcritical experiements and very-low yield hydronuclear experiements.
Both the United States and Russia keep their respective test sites in a state of constant readiness. The Trump Administration recently ordered the Department of Energy to be prepared to conduct a nuclear test within six months. Satellite images show that Russia, too, maintains infrastructure and test tunnels in the event of a return to nuclear testing. This is an unused test tunnel in the D-11 area that was refurbished in 2016, and is apparently available for nuclear testing.
A Return to Nuclear Testing?
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Image: CTBTO
Like the U.S. Nevada National Security Site, the Central Testing Ground at Novaya Zemlya is a well-maintained facility for conducting stockpile stewardship experiments and, if necessary, hosting resumed nuclear testing.
Novaya Zemlya Today
Severny Today
The main support area for the nuclear test site is the settlement of Severny. In 2016, Russia began replacing many of the buildings and removing debris as part of an effort to improve testing infrastructure throughout the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. This image shows the aftermath of clean-up efforts at Severny.
Personnel Activties
Transportation around the expansive Novaya Zemlya nuclear test site is often by helicopter. The continued presenece of helicopters helps demonstrate that the site remains active. The second image, taken by Image Sat International's EROS-B satellite, shows a helicopter at the main airfield near Severny in 2016.
Images: VKontakte and 2016 Image Sat International N.V.
Construction of a Possible Sub-critical Test Facility
In October 2012, an article in Nezavisimaya Gazeta reported that Russia would resume sub-critical nuclear testing at Zone B. Subcritical tests are designed to evaluate nuclear weapon performace without producing a nuclear explosion. In spring 2013, Russia began construction on what would be come a new tunnel and four buildings. This facility may be a dedciated subcritical test site, comparable to the U1a facility at the Nevada National Security Site.
Images: 2004 Google, DigitalGlobe; 2018 Bing maps; 2018 HERE, DigitalGlobe
Area D-11
At the end of the Cold War, the Soviet Union was developing a new testing zone called D-11. This unused tunnel, located 15 km from Severny, may have been part of this planned new test area. In summer 2016, high resolution images showed work was conducted to repair the tunnel entrance. Russia may be keeping this tunnel in a state of readiness for a return to nuclear testing.
Unused Tunnel
There is yet another tunnel located even further away from Severny - more than 20 kilometers away. It is in an uncertain state of construction, but may be available for future testing.
Image: 2018 HERE, DigitalGlobe
in 1997, the United States accused Russia of conducting a clandestine nuclear test at the Novaya Zemlya test site, only to later admit that the event had been an earthquake in the nearby Kara Sea. Open source information can help independent analysts monitor the site, assess claims of covert testing, and devise confidence-building and arms control measures.
Monitoring the Test Site
Detecting Changes After Nuclear Tests
Nuclear tests visibly change the landscape in ways that are detectable using satellite images. Past tests left craters from underground nuclear explosions and debris from large rock slides. This image shows an analyst's annotations of landscape changes due to a nuclear test. Numbers 1-4 are craters from nuclear tests, number 5 is the spoil pile from an excavated test tunnel, and number 6 is debris fromm a rock slide. Changes were detectable at the Nevada Test Site as well.
Images: 1989 SPOT, courtesy of Johnny Skorve, and Los Alamos National Lab
Detecting Test Preparations
Commercial satellite imagery has become widely available in recent years. To analyze Cold War-era cases, we have to rely on declassified satellite imagery. This May 26, 1967 KH-7 image shows the settlement of Severny, as well as preparations for Event #4 in October 1967. Future monitoring and verification efforts would benefit from widespread availability of commercial satellite imagery, as any activity could be captured in real time, as it was for North Korean tests.
Image: 1967 USGS
Image: Steven J. Gibbons
Approximating Test Locations
Seismic data helps analysts determine a nuclear test has occurred and approximate its relative location. Historical seismic data at Zone B often conflicts with other sources, making it difficult to accurately match test tunnels to test events. Contemporary seismic data provides a better picture, especially when used in tandem with satellite and ground imagery, as displayed in the aftermath of North Korea's recent nuclear tests.
Images: 2004 Google, DigitalGlobe; 2018 HERE, DigitalGlobe
Assessing Test Site Readiness
Some test tunnels at Zone B appear to remain active. Changes in spoil pile (excavated dirt) at this test location, seen in satellite imagery from 2004 and 2013, suggest ongoing construction. This activity is probably related to ongoing subcritical experiements at the site. The United States conducts similar sub-critical nuclear tests underground at the Nevada National Security Site.
Harnessing Social Media
Images: Nevada National Security Site and VKontakte
In an era of social media, more images of the Nevada National Security Site and Novaya Zemlya are available, giving researchers virtual access to sensitive government sites. Some pictures are authorized for release by the government, such as the first and second images posted by the Nevada National Security Site's official Twitter acount. Others, like the third and fourth images posted on public Vkontakte forums, are not.
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Three month image mosaic: (c) July-September 2017, Planet Labs, Inc., cc-by-SA 4.0
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