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PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: A study suggests that seismic signals from earthquakes can obscure the detection of clandestine underground nuclear tests.
👥 Who’s Involved: The review was conducted by Joshua Carmichael and his team at Los Alamos National Laboratory, with the findings published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.
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📍 Where & When: The study draws on data from the Nevada National Security Site, highlighting global implications. It has been published in a recent edition of the journal.
💬 Key Quote: “Background seismicity in regions where there’s any sort of seismicity at all is going to measurably and substantially reduce the probability that we can detect signals from an underground explosion at a test site,” said Joshua Carmichael.
⚠️ Impact: The study raises concerns for international monitoring of nuclear tests, potentially affecting compliance verification of treaties such as the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
IN FULL:
New research suggests that seismic signals from natural earthquakes may obscure the detection of underground nuclear tests, raising concerns for international monitoring efforts. Scientist Joshua Carmichael and colleagues from Los Alamos National Laboratory, in a review of data published in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, found a significant decrease in the accuracy of detection of nuclear tests occurring during or just after a seismic event and even at substantial distances from one another.
The study evaluated advanced signal detectors capable of identifying explosions with high accuracy. It found a significant reduction in this success rate when explosion signals overlapped with earthquake waveforms occurring within a 100-second timeframe and within a 250-kilometer (or roughly 150-mile) radius. The Los Alamos National Laboratory review referred to how these overlapping waveforms “obfuscate the ability of even the most sensitive digital signal detectors” to identify explosions, potentially impacting global treaty compliance monitoring.
“Background seismicity in regions where there’s any sort of seismicity at all is going to measurably and substantially reduce the probability that we can detect signals from an underground explosion at a test site,” Carmichael, a Geophysical Explosion Monitoring (GEM) team member at the laboratory, said.
This investigation counters earlier findings from a 2012 report that downplayed the potential for earthquake signals to mask explosions. The national security implications are serious, particularly for monitoring adherence to the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty that prohibits all explosive nuclear testing for all military and civilian purposes.
The review also indicates that regional seismic activity, particularly in areas like North Korea, could complicate detection efforts. North Korea’s nuclear testing activities over the past two decades, noted to be “off the charts,” highlight the urgency of accurate detection mechanisms. An increase in low-magnitude seismicity around test sites further complicates monitoring, with potential detection rates plummeting from 92 percent to 16 percent in cases of repetitive seismic events.
The research proposes that the industry may be undercounting natural seismic occurrences embedded in earthquake swarms and aftershock sequences, complicating the monitoring of both natural and anthropogenic seismic events.
PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: A former New Mexico magistrate judge and his wife were arrested after allegedly harboring members of Venezuela’s violent Tren de Aragua criminal organization.
👥 Who’s Involved: Former Magistrate Judge Joel Cano, his wife Nancy Cano, and Venezuelan illegal immigrant and Tren de Aragua member Cristhian Ortega-Lopez.
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📍 Where & When: Las Cruces, New Mexico; arrests occurred late on Thursday, April 24.
💬 Key Quote: “Under President Trump, we have arrested over 150,000 aliens—including more than 600 members of the vicious Tren de Aragua gang,” Secretary of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) following the arrests, adding: “If you are here illegally and break the law, we will hunt you down, arrest you and lock you up. That’s a promise.”
⚠️ Impact: Both Canos are held without bond; Joel Cano has been barred from judicial office, and hearings are ongoing for the gang suspect.
IN FULL:
Former Magistrate Judge Joel Cano and his spouse, Nancy Cano, were taken into custody late Thursday in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and face charges related to allegations that the couple harbored illegal immigrant members of the violent Tren de Aragua gang. Joel Cano is being charged with evidence tampering, while his wife, Nancy, is being charged with conspiracy to tamper stemming from their relationship with a Venezuelan illegal immigrant and accused member of Tren de Aragua, Cristhian Ortega-Lopez.
Ortega-Lopez, detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) last week, is accused of possessing firearms illegally and having links to the dangerous Venezuelan criminal gang. Tren de Aragua, designated as a terrorist organization by U.S. President Donald J. Trump, is known for violent activities in Venezuela. He was found living on the Canos’ property, which triggered the law enforcement actions against the couple, including an extensive ICE raid and search on their home on Thursday.
“Under President Trump, we have arrested over 150,000 aliens—including more than 600 members of the vicious Tren de Aragua gang,” Secretary of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote in a post late Thursday on X (formerly Twitter) following the arrests, adding: “If you are here illegally and break the law, we will hunt you down, arrest you and lock you up. That’s a promise.”
Before his judgeship commenced in 2010, Joel Cano served for over two decades in the police force. However, Cano was forced to resign from the bench following ICE’s arrest of Ortega-Lopez during a search on February 28. Notably, Ortega-Lopez entered the U.S. at the infamous Eagle Pass, Texas border crossing in December of 2023 during the illegal immigration crisis under former President Joe Biden. The Biden government subsequently released the Venezuelan illegal immigrant and alleged Tren de Aragua member due to overcrowding at a detention center.
Ortega-Lopez’s online presence showed him and others with firearms in a shooting range. It is illegal in the United States for illegal immigrants to own or possess a firearm or ammunition unless the weapon is for immediate export. The Venezuelan illegal immigrant is slated for a court appearance on April 30, with federal prosecutors deeming him a flight risk.
The New Mexico Supreme Court has also permanently banned Joel Cano from holding judicial office. It remains uncertain if the Canos will face further charges related to harboring illegal immigrants or supporting a foreign terrorist organization (FTO).
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