MADRID -- Among the ancient walls from the era of King Alfonso VI in the shadow of the famous medieval Alcázar fortress high atop the city of Toledo, a group of 21st century scientists from the Air Force Technical Applications Center traveled to Spain to meet with seismic experts Sept. 19-22.
The team, led by Senior Executive Service Director of the U.S. National Data Center Dave Merker, met with members of the Instituto Geográfico Nacional to discuss the possibility of future information sharing on the 20th anniversary of AFTAC’s transfer of Detachment 313 Sonseca Seismic Station to the IGN.
IGN senior officials welcomed the American visitors to tour their facilities, some of which were under the operational control of AFTAC prior to 1996. One of AFTAC’s diverse missions includes monitoring signatories to nuclear treaties. A large portion of that work is accomplished through analyzing seismic activity around the world.
Merker, along with veteran AFTAC geophysicist Jorge Román-Nieves, AFTAC’s chief of International Affairs Robert McLaughlin, and AFTAC’s chief of Systems Control George Mirda, conferred with Mónica Groba López, Secretary General of the Ministry of Development, Dr. Emilio Carreño Herrero, director of IGN’s National Seismic Network, José Manuel Martínez Solares, chief of IGN’s area of geophysics, and José Manuel Tordesillas García-Lillo, chief of IGN’s geomagnetic observatory.
Carreño showcased his renowned headquarters building in the heart of Madrid, giving the U.S. entourage a unique opportunity to observe IGN’s seismic analysis and collection capabilities. The institute, a Spanish government entity of the Ministry of Development and Public Works, is a multi-faceted agency responsible for many aspects of research and development, including geophysics, seismometry and regional volcanic activity analysis, as well as cartography and astrophysics.
At their introductory meeting, Carreño said, “For the past 20 years, we have taken a holiday on our relationship. But today, we are very happy to reunite with our American friends for continued cooperation on our seismic work at Sonseca.”
Merker responded. “It’s important for us – myself included – to look at the possibility of rekindling a relationship with our Spanish partners, especially since a few of us with continuity of our past partnership are getting close to retirement. Several of us know each other personally from the days of AFTAC’s Detachment 313 at Sonseca, and culturally, it’s always beneficial to leverage those cultural and familiar relationships.”
From 1957 until its closure in 1996, Det 313 provided exceptional teleseismic nuclear test site monitoring data to U.S. authorities. Merker served as the detachment commander from 1994 to 1996, while Mirda served as the station superintendent from 1992 to 1994. Combined, their knowledge, planning and interface with the IGN, the Spanish Air Force and other diplomatic establishments from both countries led to a flawless transition of the det to the government of Spain.
A resource-driven removal of seismic equipment in 2010 was cause for some consternation between AFTAC and the IGN, which somewhat weakened many years of positive relationships between the two organizations. Merker and Mirda realized that the 20th anniversary of the transfer could serve as a springboard for invigorating a new era of scientific cooperation and pursued possibilities to revisit with IGN officials.
“One of my focus points of this trip was to reopen relationships with Spain from a scientific standpoint,” said Merker. “Fostering an active partnership with European Union members with common goals is something we strive for in reducing nuclear proliferation. It also helps us bond international objectives.”
Merker and members of his USNDC staff have forged close relationships with allies and colleagues at the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization in Vienna. Those bonds have strengthened AFTAC’s approach to its treaty monitoring mission and has enhanced vital negotiations.
“From a technical standing, data sharing and cooperative research and development efforts contributes to both nations’ abilities to effectively monitor and measure underground explosions in order to discriminate them from natural seismic activity,” said Mirda.
In addition to visiting the IGN HQ in Madrid, the AFTAC team toured several IGN seismic sites in the province of Toledo, as well as the towns of Sonseca and San Pablo, about 70 and 100 miles, respectively, south of the Spanish capital city.
For Merker and Mirda (who was also assigned to Det 313), the highlight of the trip was visiting IGN’s substation in Toledo where all of the detachment’s seismic collection of analog film records have been meticulously preserved and archived by IGN scientists.
“I was absolutely amazed to see the care Marina Lopéz Muga and the other IGN cartographers have taken to maintain this incredibly important seismic information,” said Mirda. “When we handed over the det in 1996, I was present for the closing ceremonies and it was difficult because there was a part of me that thought the data might never be seen or used again. But seeing the archival data so carefully stored and recorded made this trip for me enormously worthwhile. There’s a potential for future use of the data to refine historic subsurface events as well.”
Back in Madrid, the two groups worked together to hammer out specific action items and prioritize them for maximum benefit. Mirda and Roman-Nieves, both fluent in Spanish, exchanged interpreter duties.
“Communication flowed smoothly,” said Román-Nieves. “George and I learned a variety of new terms in our own language. Technology and science are never stagnant, so vocabulary has to keep up!”
José Manuel Martínez Solares, chief of geophysics for the IGN, agreed wholeheartedly with Merker’s assessment.
“Our goals of working again with AFTAC are four simple things,” he said. “We would like to collaborate on joint research projects, attend conferences together, publish together, and look at joint venture research and development opportunities. Achieving those goals will help our junior seismic researchers build their portfolio and it’s definitely something we at the IGN are very interested in pursuing.”
Merker added, “Another benefit of opening channels between us and Spain is our ability to connect IGN scientists with the CTBTO and expand their reach among other international seismic partners,” said Merker. The scientific world relies heavily on published works, and I’d really like to see IGN members co-author research papers with my USNDC experts. It’s mutually beneficial to form a closer partnership that ultimately helps the international community as a whole.”
While the two organizations may not have a direct one-on-one partnership at this time, they do share information collected by the CTBTO’s International Monitoring System.
The IMS is a worldwide network of more than 300 observational technology that assists with verifying compliance and confirming violations of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. The system uses four technologies to support the CTBT: seismological, radionuclide, hydroacoustic and infrasound. Since both Spain and the United States operate IMS stations, they are able to share each other’s data that’s sent to the International Data Center.
“As with any international collaborative effort, there are several measured steps that need to be taken and coordinated upon with the U.S. Department of State, the Department of Defense and Headquarters Air Force,” said McLaughlin. “It’s a relatively slow-moving process, but I’m pleased we’re taking the first necessary and important steps towards rekindling a relationship with our Spanish counterparts.”
David Merker (center), Senior Executive Service Director of the U.S. National Data Center, accompanied by (from left to right) chief of International Affairs Robert McLaughlin, geophysicist Jorge Román-Nieves, and chief of Systems Control George Mirda, all from the Air Force Technical Applications Center, Patrick AFB, Fla., discusses his organization’s role in monitoring international seismic activity as a contributor to the International Monitoring System with members of the Instituto Geográfico Nacional, a multi-faceted agency in Madrid, responsible for many aspects of research and development, including geophysics, seismometry and regional volcanic activity analysis, as well as cartography and astrophysics. (U.S. Air Force photo by Susan A. Romano)