Blast Mtg Notes, 29 Dec 51 the advantages of earth cover on instrument shelters ond to permit better estimates of damaye which a super bomb might do to deep underground installntions. Sandia had included the proposal primarily because the effects people wanted it. Data exist from Greenhouse studies on two buried Novy structures. These seem to indicate no appreciable attenuation by the soil, rather a general smoothing out cof the blast wave, so that it looks as though side-on pressure had been applied rather than direct reflected pressure. The object of this measurement would, then, be tc verify or disprove these findings, and it ia felt that this could better be done in Nevada, where the soil is more nearly like that of the rest of the country. It might be added that some measurements of this type were done in Nevada; the results had anomalies such that the measurement should be repeated there. It was alsc questioned whether holes shculd be dug in the coral and the pressure attenuations measured at “ 50 ft. This would be below the water table, and Cox doubted that one could expect any significant differences here from the measurements made with underwater gauges in the lagoon. If anything of this type were done, it is felt it should be in the very high over-pressure regions, since presumably a super bomb would only be used against underground installations where the damage from a smaller bomb would not be sufficient. This was discussed in some detail. It was finally concluded that techniques should first be investigated in Nevada. Again, the situation at Ivy will have no relationship to the tactical ftring of a super. AFSWP should be informed that we will make no measurerents of this nature on Ivy. G. Long-Range Seismic Studies Cox raised the question as to whether AFOAT would make these studies on Ivy. So far, no one has been able to get their reports from previous operations. The shake that Bikini or Kwajalein would get is not of military significance, but Cox thinks it offers valuable seismic data. He would expect to give the information to a good, Qcleared seismologist and let him work it over. Before establishing seismic stations on outlying islands, he thought we should find out where the existing stations are and then do only what is necessary to augment the intermediate distances which are not covered. There is one point, however: the seismic stations around Boulder City are about the most complete that Cox knows of, but during Buster-Jangle he found that they have no way of measuring amplitudes, accelerations, velocities, and the like--all they could say was that a signal arrived and whether it was large or small.