Editing Project Plowshare (section)

==Proposed nuclear projects==

A number of projects were proposed and some planning accomplished, but were not followed through on.  A list of these is given here:<ref name="Executive Summary"/>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Name
!Date
!Location
!Purpose
|-
!Oxcart
|1959
|Nevada  Test Site
|Investigate  excavation efficiency as a function of yield and depth in planning for  Project Chariot.
|-
!''[[Project Oilsand|Oilsand]]''
|1959
|Athabasca,  Canada
|Study  the feasibility of oil recovery using a nuclear explosive detonation in the  Athabascan tar sands.
|-
!Oil Shale
|1959
|Not  determined
|Study  a nuclear detonation to shatter an oil shale formation to extract oil.
|-
!Ditchdigger
|1961
|Not  determined
|A  deeply buried clean nuclear explosive detonation excavation experiment
|-
!Coach
|1963
|Carlsbad,  NM (GNOME site)
|Produce  neutron-rich isotopes of known trans- plutonium elements.
|-
!Phaeton
|1963
|Not  determined
|Scaling  experiment.
|-
!''[[Project Carryall|Carryall]]''
|1963
|Bristol  Mountains Mojave Desert, CA
|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
|Study  cratering characteristics in dry sandstone; study ground shock and air blast  intensities.
|-
![[Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway#Nuclear excavation study|Tennessee/ Tombigee Waterway]]
|1964
|Northeast  Mississippi
|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)
|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. 1966
|Nevada  Test Site
|A  low-yield cratering detonation to study basic cratering phenomenology.
|-
!Dragon Trail
|Dec. 1966
|Rio  Blanco County, CO
|Natural  gas stimulation experiment; different geological characteristics than either  GASBUGGY or RULISON; geological study completed.
|-
!''[[Project Ketch|Ketch]]''
|Aug. 1967
|Renovo,  PA (12 miles SW)
|Create  a large chimney of broken rock with void space to store natural gas under  high pressure.
|-
!Bronco
|Oct. 1967
|Rio  Blanco County, CO
|Break  oil shale deposits for in situ retorting; exploratory core holes  drilled.
|-
!Sloop
|Oct. 1967 – 1968
|Safford,  AZ (11 miles NE)
|Fracturing  copper ore; extract copper by in situ leaching methods; feasibility study  completed.
|-
!''[[Project Thunderbird|Thunderbird]]
|1967
|Gillette,  WY (20 miles W)
|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
|A  high-yield row charge in hard rock under terrain of varying elevations.
|-
!Aquarius
|1968–70
|Clear  Creek or San Simon, AZ
|Water  resource management; dam construction, subsurface storage, purification;  aquifer modification.
|-
!Wagon Wheel
|Jan.&nbsp;1968&nbsp;–&nbsp;1974
|Pinedale,  WY (19 miles S)
|Natural  gas stimulation; study stimulation at various depths; an exploratory hole and  two hydrological wells were drilled.
|-
!Wasp
|Jul. 1969 – 1974
|Pinedale,  WY (24 miles NW)
|Natural  gas stimulation; meteorological observations taken.
|-
!Utah
|1969
|near  Ouray, UT
|Oil  shale maturation; exploratory hole drilled.
|-
!Sturtevant
|1969
|Nevada  Test Site
|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)
|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
|Cratering  experiment to extend excavation information on yields and rock types relevant  to the trans-Isthmian canal.
|-
!Geothermal Power Plant
|1971
|Not  determined
|Geothermal  resource experiment; fracturing would allow fluids circulated in fracture  zones to be converted to steam to generate electricity.<ref name="Executive Summary">{{cite web|url=https://www.osti.gov/opennet/reports/plowshar.pdf|title=Executive Summary: Plowshare Program|publisher=US Department of Energy, Office of Science and Technical Information|access-date=August 17, 2016}} {{PD-notice}}</ref>
|-
!''[[Project Travois|Travois]]''
|1970
||Various sites in California, New Mexico, Idaho and Oregon
|Several nuclear quarrying projects to create rock fill for dam projects.<ref name=OSTI1>{{Cite report |url=https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1046574 |title=The Off-Site Plowshare and Vela Uniform Programs: Assessing Potential Environmental Liabilities through an Examination of Proposed Nuclear Projects,High Explosive Experiments, and High Explosive Construction Activities |last1=Beck |first1=Colleen M. |last2=Edwards |first2=Susan R. |last3=King |first3=Maureen L. |date=2011-09-01 |issue=Tech Rpt 111 DOE/NV/26383-22, 1046575 |doi=10.2172/1046575 |volume=1 |language=en|section=Project Travois|pages=3–259}}</ref><ref name=Yoman>{{Cite report |url=https://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/36/010/36010774.pdf |author=Yoman, John|title=Symposium on Engineering with Nuclear Explosives  |date=May 1970  |language=en|section=Summary of Nuclear-Excavation Applications|pages=267–268}}</ref>
|}