A primary seismic station within the CTBT’s International Monitoring System (IMS), used to deter and detect nuclear tests, has finished construction in the Middle East. The station, named PS44, was recently completed near Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, a few kilometers from the border of Iran. It is one of 337 monitoring stations around the world designed to verify the CTBT. 75% of the IMS has already been built and certified, and is actively transmitting data.
The station’s recording facility started transmitting seismic information to the CTBT’s International Data Cenre (IDC) on October 5, 2008. It is now undergoing testing, and is expected to be certified in 2010.
For more information on PS44, see the CTBTO's informational page.