Transfer of Northern Hemisphere Fall-out to the Southern Hemisphere

Abstract

THE detonation of a low-yield nuclear device in Western China at 1900 h, October 16, 1964 (New Zealand time), was reported, and tests for barium-140 were included in our routine investigations of fall-out at Gracefield, Wellington (41° 14′ S., 174° 55′ E.), to identify debris from this test. Barium-140 was detected in rainwater samples collected between December 1, 1964, and January 1, 1965, and the deposition was 50 ± 10 mc. per square mile. It would appear, therefore, that debris from this first Chinese bomb took between 45 and 76 days to reach Wellington.