of burst increases this ratio decieases. However, the crater is more effective as an obstacle to vehicular movement wh-n this ratio is small and the slope of the sides steep.
It is felt that too much weight should not be placed on the nonconformity of individual
craters formed fromtower bursts, since these are depression cratcrs formed in the higit-
overpressure region of the burst. The outer limits of these craters are very hard to detect,
except by very-accurate survey controls. This is particularly true when one realizes that
the radius-to-depth ratio of the crater being considered may be on the order of 100.
In order for a military commander to properly use the cratering effect from a nuclear
weapon andstil] execute tactical operations on the ground, he must have an understanding
of the variation in crater dimensions due to the burst position of the weapon (above or below
the air-earth interface), placement of the weapon (tamped or untarmped), yield of the weapon,
and response of the media in the vicinity of the detonation.
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