MEDIA ADVISORY - Press Visit to CTBTO
Monitoring Stations in Bavarian Forest
27-28 May 2010

23 April 2010 Media representatives are invited to visit CTBTO monitoring stations  27-28 May 2010 in the Bavarian Forest near Freyung, Germany. The site has both a seismic station (GERES) and an infrasound station that are part of a network of 337 monitoring facilities the CTBTO is building to monitor the globe for nuclear explosions. The visit is jointly organized by the CTBTO and the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany. GERES was among the stations in the CTBTO’s network that detected the North Korean nuclear tests in 2006 and in 2009.  Most recently, data from this site and some 20 others helped tsunami warning centers issue swift alerts to Latin American countries and the wider Pacific region, following the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Chile in February 2010. The visit offers the media the opportunity to see one of the oldest seismic stations in Europe, co-located with an infrasound monitoring station, a unique technology used by the CTBTO network to detect very low frequency sound waves in the atmosphere.  There will be: •    Photo opportunities for both seismic and infrasound stations in operation.  (The visit involves a 50 minute hike through the forest to reach the station, sturdy shoes are recommended); •    Briefings/interviews with the Station Manager and scientists to explain how infrasound and seismic technologies work and contribute to the global alarm system that the CTBTO is building to ensure that no nuclear explosion goes undetected. For more details see the agenda with two options (overnight stay or return to Vienna on 27 May).  Transport by bus to the venue from the Vienna International Centre and back and meals will be provided by the CTBTO and Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany.   Accreditation: Please fill in the accreditation form (PDF) and return it to Ms. Awoba Macheiner by email: awoba.macheiner@ctbto.org.  Please reply by Monday 10 May 2010, 17:00.  Limited places are available and applications will be accepted on a first-come first-served basis. Once your place is secured, information about the hotel (Euro 46 per night with breakfast) will be provided for journalists to book directly themselves.  You are encouraged to book early as the hotel is holding rooms only until 29 April 2010 for the press visit.

You are required to bring a valid press ID card.

Press Contact: Kirstie Gregorich Hansen
CTBTO Public Information
+43 1 26030-6470
+43 699122-65648
kirsten.gregorich.hansen@ctbto.org

For further information on the CTBTO, please see www.ctbto.org – your resource on ending nuclear testing,
or contact: Annika Thunborg, Spokesperson and Chief, Public Information  
T    +43 1 26030-6375 
E    annika.thunborg@ctbto.org
M    +43 699 1459 6375      
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