Exhibition on global verification regime technologies during 21st Session of Preparatory Commission

Ambassador Thomas Stelzer, Chairperson of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission for the second half of 2003, opened an exhibition of the technologies which support the global verification regime on 10 November 2003. The exhibition, located in the Rotunda of the Vienna International Centre during the 21st Session of the Commission, was based on a similar exhibition prepared for the 2003 Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the CTBT.

The exhibition area was divided into sections devoted to the International Monitoring System, the Global Communications Infrastructure, the International Data Centre and On-site Inspections. Each section consisted of a number of information panels, together with examples of specialised equipment. Visitors to the exhibition were also able to view a near real-time display of seismo-acoustic data on a workstation which was connected to the International Data Centre.

A display of photographs provided a snapshot of the range of IMS facilities around the world. The IMS is unique in terms of both reach and technological integration, but it is also a staggering engineering challenge because of the extremely diverse locations of the 337 facilities. The photographs were selected to highlight the range of locations and the diversity of station types.