Nuclear Weapons Effects in a Forest Environment. Thermal and Fire

Abstract

The handbook describes nuclear weapons thermal output and its effects on forest and wildland environments. Specific topics include a description of the nuclear thermal pulse and its transmission through the atmosphere for surface, atmospheric, and high-altitude bursts; ignition requirements of alpha cellulose and wildland fuels (including living vegetation); the classification and distribution of different types of forest fuels and climates and a discussion of fire potential; the behavior of single, multiple, and mass fires and firestorms; the post-fire environment; firefighting and evacuation methods; effects on military operations and man. Also included for completeness are non-thermal effects on the forest and wildland--nuclear radiation and air blast effects--together with synergistic considerations, such as blast-fire and fire-fallout interactions.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 1971
Accession Number
AD0892886

Entities

People

  • C. C. Buck
  • J. W. Kerr
  • Stephen W. Martin
  • W. D. Nelson
  • W. E. Cline

Organizations

  • General Electric

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Burning Rate
  • Combustion
  • Explosives
  • Forest Fires
  • Forests
  • Gamma Rays
  • Geographic Regions
  • Geography
  • Medical Personnel
  • Meteorology
  • North America
  • Nuclear Explosions
  • Nuclear Fallout
  • Ridges
  • Temperate Regions
  • Terrain
  • Topography

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Fire Suppression Systems Design.
  • Pulsed Power and Plasma Physics.
  • Urban Planning and Geography.