User:CWSstudent/sandbox

Name	Date	Location	Type	Purpose
Oxcart	1959	Nevada Test Site	Nuclear explosive	Investigate excavation efficiency as a function of yield and depth in planning for Project Chariot.
Oilsands	1959	Athabasca, Canada	Nuclear explosive	Study the feasibility of oil recovery using a nuclear explosive detonation in the Athabascan tar sands.
Oil Shale	1959	Not determined	Nuclear explosive	Study a nuclear detonation to shatter an oil shale formation to extract oil.
Ditchdigger	1961	Not determined	Nuclear explosive	A deeply buried clean nuclear explosive detonation excavation experiment
Coach	1963	Carlsbad, NM (GNOME site)	Nuclear explosive	Produce neutron-rich isotopes of known trans- plutonium elements.
Phaeton	1963	Not determined	Nuclear explosive	Scaling experiment.
Carryall	Nov-63	Bristol Mountains Mojave Desert, CA	Nuclear explosive	Row-charge excavation experiment to cut through the Bristol Mountains for realignment of the Santa Fe railroad and a new highway I-40.
Dogsled	1964	Colorado Plateau CO or AZ	Nuclear explosive	Study cratering characteristics in dry sandstone; study ground shock and air blast intensities.
Tennessee/ Tombigee Waterway	1964	Northeast Mississippi	Nuclear explosive	Excavation of three miles of a divide cut through low hills; connect Tennessee and Tombigee rivers; dig 250-mile long canal.
Interoceanic Sea-Level Canal Study	1965-70	Pan-American Isthmus (Central America)	Nuclear explosive	Commission appointed in 1965 to conduct feasibility studies of several sea-level routes for an Atlantic- Pacific interoceanic canal. Two routes were in Panama and one in northwestern Colombia. The 1970 final report recommended, in part, that no current U.S. canal policy should be made on the basis that nuclear excavation technology will be available for canal construction. AEC deferred in making any decision.
Flivver	Mar-66	Nevada Test Site	Nuclear explosive	A low-yield cratering detonation to study basic cratering phenomenology.
Dragon Trail	Dec-66	Rio Blanco County, CO	Nuclear explosive	Natural gas stimulation experiment; different geological characteristics than either GASBUGGY or RULISON; geological study completed.
Ketch	Aug-67	Renovo, PA (12 miles SW)	Nuclear explosive	Create a large chimney of broken rock with void space to store natural gas under high pressure.
Bronco	Oct-67	Rio Blanco County, CO	Nuclear explosive	Break oil shale deposits for in situ retorting; exploratory core holes drilled.
Sloop	10/67-68	Stafford, AZ (11 miles NE)	Nuclear explosive	Fracturing copper ore; extract copper by in situ leaching methods; feasibility study completed.
Thunderbird	1967	Buffalo, WY (35 miles E)	Nuclear explosive	Coal gasification; fracture rock-containing coal and in situ combustion of the coal would produce low-Btu gas and other products.
Galley	1967-68	Not determined	Nuclear explosive	A high-yield row charge in hard rock under terrain of varying elevations.
Aquarius	1968-70	Clear Creek or San Simon, AZ	Nuclear explosive	Water resource management; dam construction, subsurface storage, purification; aquifer modification.
Wagon Wheel	01/68-74	Pinedale, WY (19 miles S)	Nuclear explosive	Natural gas stimulation; study stimulation at various depths; an exploratory hole and two hydrological wells were drilled.
Wasp	07/69-74	Pinedale, WY (24 miles NW)	Nuclear explosive	Natural gas stimulation; meteorological observations taken.
Utah	1969	near Ouray, UT	Nuclear explosive	Oil shale maturation; exploratory hole drilled.
Sturtevant	1969	Nevada Test Site	Nuclear explosive	Cratering experiment to extend excavation information on yields and rock types relevant to the trans-Isthmian canal.
Australian Harbor Project	1969	Cape Keraudren (NW coast of Australia)	Nuclear explosive	First discussed with U.S. officials in 1962, the U.S. formally agreed to participate in a joint feasibility study with the Australian government in early 1969 for using nuclear explosives to construct a harbor. The project was stopped in March 1969 when it was determined that there was an insufficient economic basis to proceed.
Yawl	1969-70	Nevada Test Site	Nuclear explosive	Cratering experiment to extend excavation information on yields and rock types relevant to the trans-Isthmian canal.
Geothermal Power Plant	1971	Not determined	Nuclear explosive	Geothermal resource experiment; fracturing would allow fluids circulated in fracture zones to be converted to steam to generate electricity.

Test name	Date	Location	Type	Depth of Burial	Medium	Yield	Objective
Pre-Gnome	February 10-16, 1959	Southeast of Carlsbad, New Mexico	seismic experiment (High explosive)	1,200 ft (365.8 m), each	Bedded salt	3.65 tons	Three seismic experiments to measure ground shock for the planned GNOME nuclear test.
Toboggan	November- December 1959 & April-June 1960	Nevada Test Site	ditching experiment (High explosive, TNT)	3 to 20 ft (1 to 6.1 m)	Playa (combination of silt and clay)	Series of 122 detonations of both linear and point HE charges	Study ditching characteristics of both-end detonated and multidetonated HE explosives in preparation for nuclear row charge experiments.
Hobo	February- April 1960	Nevada Test Site	seismic experiment (High explosive, TNT)	Unkown	Tuff	Three explosions, varying from 500 to 1,000 lb. charges each	To study rock fracturing and related phenomena produced by contained explosions.
Stagecoach	March 1960	Nevada Test Site	excavation experiment (High explosive, TNT)	Shot 1 - 80 ft (24.4 m); Shot 2 - 17.1 ft (5.2 m); Shot 3 - 34.2 ft (10.4 m)	Alluvium	Three 40,000 lb. charges	Examine blast, seismic effects and throw out characteristics in preparation for nuclear cratering experiments.
Plowboy	March-July 1960	Winnfield, Louisiana	experiment	Unkown	Unkown	Unkown	Mining operation to examine high explosive- induced fracturing of salt.
Buckboard	July-September 1960	Nevada Test Site	excavation experiment (High explosive, TNT)	5 to 59.85 ft (1.5 to 18.24 m)	Basalt	Three 40,000 lb. charges and ten 1,000 lb. charges	Establish depth of burst curves for underground explosives in a hard rock medium.
Pinot	August 2, 1960	Rifle, Colorado	tracer experiment (High explosive, nitromethane)	610 ft (185.9 m)	Oil shale	Unkown	To determine how gases in a confined underground explosion migrate.
Scooter	October 1960	Nevada Test Site	excavation experiment (High explosive, TNT)	125 ft (38.1 m)	Alluvium	500 ton charges	To study crater dimension, throw out material distribution, ground motion, dust cloud growth, and long-range air blast.
Rowboat	June 1961	Nevada Test Site	row-charge experiment (High explosive, TNT)	Varied	Alluvium	8 detonations of series of four 278 lb. charges	To study the effects of depth of burial and charge separation on crater dimensions.
Yo-Yo	Summer 1961	At LRL, near Tracy, California	simulated excavation experiment (High explosive)	Varied	Oil-sand mixture	100 gm charges	To develop estimates for the quantities of radiation released to the atmosphere by a cratering detonation.
Pre-Buggy I	November 1962- February 1963	Nevada Test Site	row-charge experiment (High explosive, nitromethane)	15 to 21.4 ft (4.57 to 6.52 m) for single-charge detonations; all row-charge detonations at 19.8 ft (6.04 m)	Alluvium	Six single-charge detonations, four multiple-charge	U.S. Army Engineer Cratering Group Study of row- charge phenomenology and effects in preparation for nuclear row-charge tests.
Pre-Buggy II	June-August 1963	Nevada Test Site	row-charge experiment (High explosive, nitromethane)	18.5 to 23 ft (5.64 to 7.0 m)	Alluvium	Five rows of five 1,000 lb. charges	U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study of row-charge phenomenology and effects in preparation for a nuclear row- charge experiment.
Pre-Schooner I	February 1964	Nevada Test Site	cratering experiment (High explosive, nitromethane)	42 to 66 ft (18.3 to 20.1 m)	Basalt	Four 40,000 lb. spherical charges	U.S. Army Engineer Nuclear Cratering Group study of basic cratering phenomenology in preparation for nuclear cratering experiments.
Dugout	June 24, 1964	Nevada Test Site	row charge experiment (High explosive, nitromethane)	59 ft (18.0 m)	Basalt	simultaneous detonation of a row of five 20 ton charges placed 45 feet (13.7 m) apart (1 crater radius)	Study fundamental processes involved in row charge excavating dense, hard rock.
Pre-Schooner II	September 30, 1965	Owyhee County, southwestern Idaho	cratering experiment (high explosive, nitromethane)	71 ft (21.6 m)	Rhyolite	85 ton charge	Obtain data for proposed Schooner nuclear cratering test, particularly cavity growth, seismic effects, and air blast.
Pre-Gondola I, II, III	October 1966 - October 1969	Near Fort Peck Reservoir, Valley County, Montana	excavation experiments (High explosive, nitromethane)	Varied	Saturated Bearclaw shale	Pre-Gondola I, four 20-ton charges; Pre-Gondola II, row of five charges totaling 140 tons; Pre-Gondola III, Phase I, three rows of seven one-ton charges; Phase II, one row of seven 30- ton charges; Phase III, one row of five charges varying from five to 35 tons and totaling 70 tons	U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project to provide seismic calibration test data and cratering characteristics for excavation projects.
Tugboat	November 1969- December 1970	Kawaihae Bay, Hawaii	excavation experiment (High explosive, TNT)	4-8 ft (1.2-2.4 m)	Water	Unkown	To study excavation of a small boat harbor in a weak coral medium.
Trinidad	July-December 1970	Trinidad, Colorado (six miles west)	excavation experiment (High explosive)	Unkown	Sandstone/shale	Unkown	Four series of row-charge detonations to study excavation designs.
Old Reliable	August 1971- March 1972	Galiuro Mountains, 44 miles northeast Tucson, Arizona	fracturing experiment (High explosive, ammonium nitrate)	Unkown	Unkown	2,002 tons	To promote fracturing and in situ leaching of copper ore.

Plowshare nuclear tests

Test name	Date	Location	Type	Depth of Burial	Medium	Yield (kilotons)	Test series	Objective
Gnome	10 December 1961	Carlsbad, New Mexico	Shaft	1,185 ft (361 m)	Salt	3	Nougat	A multipurpose experiment designed to provide data concerning: (1) heat generated from a nuclear explosion; (2) isotopes production; (3) neutron physics; (4) seismic measurements in a salt medium; and (5) design data for developing nuclear devices specifically for peaceful uses.
Sedan	6 July 1962	Nevada Test Site	Crater	635 ft (194 m)	Alluvium	104	Storax	A excavation experiment in alluvium to determine feasibility of using nuclear explosions for large excavation projects, such as harbors and canals; provide data on crater size, radiological safety, seismic effects, and air blast.
Anacostia	27 November 1962	Nevada Test Site	Shaft	747 ft (227.7 m)	Tuff	5.2	Storax	A device-development experiment to produce heavy elements and provide radiochemical analysis data for the planned Coach Project.
Kaweah	21 February 1963	Nevada Test Site	Shaft	745 ft (227.1 m)	Alluvium	3	Dominic I and II	A device-development experiment to produce heavy elements and provide technical data for the planned Coach Project.
Tornillo	11 October 1963	Nevada Test Site	Shaft	489 ft (149 m)	Alluvium	0.38	Niblick	A device-development experiment to produce a clean nuclear explosive for excavation applications.
Klickitat	20 February 1964	Nevada Test Site	Shaft	1,616 ft (492.6 m)	Tuff	70	Niblick	A device-development experiment to produce an improved nuclear explosive for excavation applications.
Ace	11 June 1964	Nevada Test Site	Shaft	862 ft (262.7 m)	Alluvium	3	Niblick	A device-development experiment to produce an improved nuclear explosive for excavation applications.
Dub	30 June 1964	Nevada Test Site	Shaft	848 ft (258.5 m)	Alluvium	11.7	Niblick	A device-development experiment to study emplacement techniques.
Par	9 October 1964	Nevada Test Site	Shaft	1,325 ft (403.9 m)	Alluvium	38	Whetstone	A device-development experiment designed to increase the neutron flux needed for the creation of heavy elements.
Handcar	5 November 1964	Nevada Test Site	Shaft	1,332 ft (406 m)	Dolomite (carbonate rock)	12	Whetstone	An emplacement experiment to study the effects of nuclear explosions in carbonate rock.
Sulky	5 November 1964	Nevada Test Site	Shaft	90 ft (27.4 m)	Basalt	0.9	Whetstone	An excavation experiment to explore cratering mechanics in hard, dry rock and study dispersion patterns of airborne radionuclides released under these conditions.
Palanquin	14 April 1965	Nevada Test Site	Crater	280 ft (85.3 m)	Rhyolite	4.3	Whetstone	An excavation experiment in hard, dry rock to study dispersion patterns of airborne radionuclides released under these conditions.
Templar	24 March 1966	Nevada Test Site	Shaft	495 ft (150.9 m)	Tuff	0.37	Flintlock	To develop an improved nuclear explosive for excavation applications.
Vulcan	25 June 1966	Nevada Test Site	Shaft	1,057 ft (322.2 m)	Alluvium	25	Flintlock	A heavy element device-development test to evaluate neutron flux performance.
Saxon	11 July 1966	Nevada Test Site	1.2 kt	502 ft (153 m)	Tuff	1.2	Latchkey	A device-development experiment to improve nuclear explosives for excavation applications.
Simms	6 November 1966	Nevada Test Site	Shaft	650 ft (198.1 m)	Alluvium	2.3	Latchkey	A device-development experiment to evaluate clean nuclear explosives for excavation applications.
Switch	22 June 1967	Nevada Test Site	Shaft	990 ft (301.8 m)	Tuff	3.1	Latchkey	A device-development experiment to evaluate clean nuclear explosives for excavation applications.
Marvel	21 September 1967	Nevada Test Site	Shaft	572 ft (174.3 m)	Alluvium	2.2	Crosstie	An emplacement experiment to investigate underground phenomenology related to emplacement techniques.
Gasbuggy	10 December 1967	Farmington, New Mexico	Shaft	4,240 ft (1,292 m)	Sandstone, gas bearing formation	29	Crosstie	A gas stimulation experiment to investigate the feasibility of using nuclear explosives to stimulate a low-permeability gas field; first Plowshare joint government-industry nuclear experiment to evaluate an industrial application.
Cabriolet	26 January 1968	Nevada Test Site	Crater	170 ft (51.8 m)	Rhyolite	2.3	Crosstie	An excavation experiment to explore cratering mechanics in hard, dry rock and study dispersion patterns of airborne radionuclides released under these conditions.
Buggy	12 March 1968	Nevada Test Site	Crater	135 ft (41.1 m)	Basalt	5 at 1.1 each	Crosstie	A five-detonation excavation experiment to study the effects and phenomenology of nuclear row-charge excavation detonations.
Stoddard	17 September 1968	Nevada Test Site	Shaft	1,535 ft (467.9 m)	Tuff	31	Bowline	A device-development experiment to develop clean nuclear explosives for excavation applications.
Schooner	8 December 1968	Nevada Test Site	Crater	365 ft (111.3 m)	Tuff	30	Bowline	An excavation experiment to study the effects and phenomenology of cratering detonations in hard rock.
Rulison	10 September 1969	Grand Valley, Colorado	Shaft	8,425 ft (2,567.9 m)	Sandstone	43	Mandrel	A gas stimulation experiment to investigate the feasibility of using nuclear explosives to stimulate a low-permeability gas field; provide engineering data on the use of nuclear explosions for gas stimulation; on changes in gas production and recovery rates; and on techniques to reduce the radioactive contamination to the gas.
Flask -Green, -Yellow, -Red	26 May 1970	Nevada Test Site	Shaft	Green, 1736 ft (529.2 m); Yellow, 1,099 ft (335 m); Red, 499 ft (152.1 m)	Green, Tuff; Yellow and Red, Alluvium	Green, 105; Yellow, 0.9; Red, 0.4 tons	Mandrel	A three-detonation device development experiment to develop improved nuclear explosives for excavation applications.
Miniata	8 July 1971	Nevada Test Site	Shaft	1,735 ft (528.8 m)	Tuff	83	Grommet	To develop a clean nuclear explosive for excavation applications.
Rio Blanco  -1, -2, -3	17 May 1973	Rifle, Colorado	Shaft	5,840 ft (1,780 m); 6,230 ft (1,898.9 m); 6,690 ft (2,039.1 m)	Sandstone, gas-bearing formation	3 at 33 each	Toggle	A gas stimulation experiment to investigate the feasibility of using nuclear explosives to stimulate a low-permeability gas field; develop technology for recovering natural gas from reservoirs with very low permeability.