Porewater pressure increases in soil and rock from underground chemical and nuclear explosions

A review and analysis of chemical and nuclear explosive-induced porewater pressure increases and induced rise in groundwater table elevations (groundwater mounding) is presented. Our analysis indicates that residual pore pressure increases and groundwater mounding can be induced by underground chemical and nuclear explosions to scaled distances of 879 m/(kt)(1/3). This relationship is linear over eleven orders of magnitude of explosive energy ranging from a 0.01 kg chemical explosion to a 100 kt nuclear explosion and is valid for a wide variety of saturated geological profiles. Underground chemical explosions, and probably underground nuclear explosions, have the potential to induce liquefaction of water-saturated soils to scaled distances of about 260 m/(kt)(1/3).