Editing Project Vela (section)

== Vela Uniform ==
[[Vela Uniform]] was the second half of Project Vela that began its development soon after the [[Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty|PTB Treaty]] was put into effect. Vela Uniform was created with the intention of monitoring [[Earthquake|seismic activity]] in order to determine the magnitude and location of any covert nuclear weapons tests beneath the surface of the earth. Underground tests have been illegal under [[international law]] since the widespread ratification of the [[Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty]] (CTBT). Vela Uniform can also detect underwater tests conducted at any point on the Earth's surface. The methods [[DARPA]] used to create a system with which they could determine the difference between a regular [[Earthquake|seismic event]] and an underground covert nuclear test involved the rigorous measurement of seven nuclear tests in the continental United States, as well as numerous smaller experiments using conventional [[Explosive material|high explosives]] rather than nuclear explosions.<ref>"United States Nuclear Tests, July 1945 to 31 December 1992" (NWD 94-1), Robert Standish Norris and Thomas B. Cochran, Nuclear Weapons Databook, Working Papers, Natural Resources Defense Council, 1350 New York Avenue, N.W., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20005, 202-783-7800, 1 February 1994.</ref><ref>"Nuclear Explosions and Earthquakes: The Parted Veil," Bruce A. Bolt, W. H. Freeman and Company, San Francisco, 1976, {{ISBN|0-7167-0276-2}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
!Test name
!Date
!Location
!Yield
!Test series
|-
!''[[Project Shoal|Shoal]]''
|1963-10-26
|[[Sand Springs Range]] 39.20012°N 118.38124°W
|12 kt
|[[Operation Niblick|Niblick]]
|-
!''Salmon''
|1964-10-22
|[[Salmon Site]] 31.14229°N 89.57001°W
|5.3 kt
|[[Operation Whetstone|Whetstone]]
|-
!''Long Shot''
|1965-10-29
|[[Amchitka|Amchitka Island, Alaska]] 51.43709°N 179.18032°E
|80 kt
|[[Operation Flintlock (nuclear test)|Flintlock]]
|-
!''Sterling''
|1966-12-03
|[[Salmon Site]] 31.14229°N 89.57001°W
|380 t
|[[Operation Latchkey|Latchkey]]
|-
!''Scroll''
|1968-04-23
|[[Nevada Test Site]] 37.33767°N 116.37647°W
|< 20 kt
|[[Operation Crosstie|Crosstie]]
|-
!''Diamond Dust''
|1970-05-12
|[[Nevada Test Site]] 37.0104°N 116.20277°W
|< 20 kt
|[[Operation Mandrel|Mandrel]]
|-
!''Diamond Mine''
|1971-07-01
|[[Nevada Test Site]] 37.01148°N 116.20427°W
|< 20 kt
|[[Operation Grommet|Grommet]]
|}
Over time, Vela Uniform's methods and techniques for measuring seismic activity to determine the existence and location of covert underground nuclear tests have improved, and stations for seismographical monitoring exist all around the world. This has had the effect of giving more nations the ability to better understand their own country's seismic activities, and has given more and more countries  access to aid in situations of [[earthquake]]s, [[tsunami]]s, and other such events, as well as ensuring the detection of any future covert underground nuclear tests.{{explain|date=March 2019|reason= See Talk page.}}

<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hall |first1=RC |title=Lunar Impact: A History of Project Range |date=2013 |publisher=Courier Corporation |pages=113}}</ref>